A short history of leather
While the European Football Championship is underway, the German Leather Museum is presenting a cultural history of the material with a special exhibition.
Tales of a leather ball
Each object tells its own story. Soccer balls made of leather are sewn together and the darker areas around the stitches are particularly telling. These balls have obviously been kicked around quite a long many years ago. This ball, made in 1920, is the focal point of the special exhibition at the German Leather Museum in Offenbach.
Ancient Egyptian burial wreath
The show describes the course taken by leather in a fictitious cycle of human life around the globe, and across history. Starting from birth, first love and marriage, and continuing on to education, profession and hobbies all the way to old age and death, the various exhibits represent human stages of life. Pictured is an Egyptian burial wreath dated from the first to third century AD.
Toy for a king
This highly detailed toy elephant once belonged to the late King Ludwig XV. It had been part of a previous exhibition, but has now been carefully restored and displayed on its own.
A child's puppet
Leather was also put to use by the Lakotas, a Sioux tribe in the Great Plains region of North American. This leather puppet was created in 1870 and is another significant piece presented by the German Leather Museum.
Safe and snug
This baby carrier also originated in North America, where it was used by the Omaha, a Native American tribe in the Midwest. It was made of leather in 1870.
Leather wedding shoes
Meant to be worn for a wedding, these carefully made leather shoes date back to the late 19th-century Vienna. They represent the Art Nouveau style that was common at that time.
Museum dedicated to leather
The German Leather Museum holds more than 30,000 leather objects, which makes it Germany's largest and oldest museum dedicated to the material. The special exhibition "Leather - Companions for Life" will run until the end of 2016.