Archaeologists have unearthed a well-preserved leather shoe from 13th century at a dig in Magdeburg that could provide insights into mediaeval life.

“Shoe finds of this type from the Gothic period occur very seldom in Central Europe,” said Heiko Breuer, an antiquities restoration expert from the State Museum for Prehistory Saxony-Anhalt in Halle.

The shoe, which is made of sheepskin, was surprisingly well-preserved in a moist layer of soil.

… “The materials were pulled taught on a block, sewn together and turned for the production of the seam – from there, the wings turned around and formed into a shoe,” said Breuer.

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The Art of Power: Royal Armor and Portraits from Imperial Spain will be at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, through November 1.

From the exhibition website:

Together, some 75 works illustrate the use of luxurious armor in projecting an image of royal power in Imperial Spain. The exhibition includes several full suits of armor, helmets, shields, and equestrian armor — worn in battle but more often in Renaissance parades, pageants, and jousting tournaments. The works of art on view date from the reigns of the Holy Roman Emperors Maximilian I of Austria (1508-1519) and Emperor Charles V (1519-1558), to those of his successors, King Philip II (1556-1598), King Philip III (1598-1621), and King Philip IV (1621-1665). This is the first time that the armor has been exhibited together with the portraits in which it is depicted.

Domenico Beccafumi, 1486-1551 is at the Louvre through February 11.

“The Blue and the Gold of Limoges: Enamels of the 12th-14th Centuries” is at The State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia, through September 20.

“Freedom, power and splendor: Dutch art in the 16th and 17th centuries” will be at the Von der Heydt-Museum in Wuppertal, Germany, through September 3.

Unbound Glory: Illuminated Pages from the Morgan is at The Morgan Library & Museum in New York City through September 13. Continue reading this post…

As part of the Year of Art in Florence, Italy, the Limonaia of the Museum of the Boboli Gardens is hosting From Petra to Shawbak: Archaeology of a Frontier through September 20. The exhibit “presents the results of the latest international archaeology investigations and of the research conducted by the archaeological mission of the University of Florence in these past twenty years,” which, among other things, uncovered the castle built by Baldwin I. Continue reading this post…

“Europe Ablaze: Art from the Migration Period” is at the Römisch-Germanisches Museum through November 15.

As a follow-up to an earlier posting here, the BBC reports that the Forme of Cury is now available online; while it doesn’t provide a location, I think it’s in the Rylands Medieval Collection.

The Curatorial Eye: Discoveries from the Folger Vault will be at the Great Hall of the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC through August 29.