Shoes worn by Chiwetel Ejiofor as Solomon Northup in the film 12 Years a Slave: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

These shoes were worn by Chiwetel Ejiofor as Solomon Northup in the film 12 Years a Slave (2013). The brogan shoes have a high leg and squared toes, with dark brown leather uppers and stacked wooden heels. The soles and heel bottoms are made from leather. The shoes close at the front of the legs with lengths of leather cord that are knotted near the ends. The shoes have been distressed for filming.

On the interior leg of each shoe is a strip of white tape with the word WESTERN handwritten in black ink, with an adhesive barcode in the proper right shoe near the tape that reads "WESTERN COSTUME" above the barcode and the number "40734580" below it. There is no barcode sticker inside the proper right shoe, but handwritten in black ink below the white tape is the text "WCC / 40734580". Another piece of tape with the number "806" handwritten in black ink is adhered at the interior proper left side near the top of the legs. Handwritten text below this tape is recorded in both shoes in black and green ink that reads "874 / 157 [strikethrough] / WCC / 11" with the barcode number also written again in the proper right shoe only. The text "11 / MADE IN MEXICO" is stamped on the interior tongue of each shoe.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 2013
• Designed by: Patricia Norris, American, 1931 - 2015
• Worn by: Chiwetel Ejiofor, British, born 1977
• Created by: Western Costume Company, American, founded 1912
• Subject of: Solomon Northup, American, 1808 - 1875
• Type: brogans (footwear)
• Medium: leather and wood
• Dimensions: H x W x D (left (a)): 7 5/8 × 4 × 12 in. (19.4 × 10.2 × 30.5 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W x D (right (b)): 7 7/8 × 4 1/4 × 12 in. (20 × 10.8 × 30.5 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Clothing and dress
• Topic: Costume
• Topic: Costume design
• Topic: Design
• Topic: Film
• Topic: Men
• Object number: 2015.158.2.6ab
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift from the Western Costume Company
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: No Known Copyright Restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.