GANDHI MAHATMA: (1869-1948) Indian political and spiritual leader during the Indian independence movement. A pair of wooden chappals previously belonging to, made and worn by, Mahatma Gandhi, the sandals of a simple design, measuring approximately 26 cm in length and 10 cm in width (at the longest and widest points) and featuring rounded toe pegs, approximately 4 cm in height, and with wooden re-inforcements to the outsole and heel of the sole. The chappals show signs of wear and retain the distinct impression of Gandhi´s toes, heels and the balls of his feet. Together with a small piece of white cotton thread originating from a garment Gandhi was in the process of creating, contained in the original contemporary folded paper wrapper annotated in the hand of Gandhi´s disciple and assistant, Franziska Standenath, in German, ´Ein Fadenabfall......den Mahatma Gandhi im Nov 1929 in meinem beisein in seinem Ashram gesponnen hat´ (Translation: ´A piece of thread......that Mahatma Gandhi spun in my presence in his ashram in November 1929´). Further including Indira Gandhi (1917-1984) Indian politician and stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of India 1966-77, 1980-84. Assassinated. T.L.S., Indira Gandhi, one page, 8vo, New Delhi, 9th March 1966, to Franziska Standenath, on the printed stationery of the Prime Minister´s House. Gandhi writes, in full, ´I am happy to hear from such a devoted friend of my country. Thank you for your kind felicitation and good wishes which I value. I myself love Bach´s music so was especially interested to learn of the prayer meeting in Sabarmati Ashram where you played Bach for Bapuji´. Accompanied by the original envelope bearing the remnants of a wax seal to the verso. A highly unusual grouping of items including the Mahatma´s simply designed footwear, emblematic of Gandhi, a paragon of ethical living and pacifism. The chappals with some light age wear as is to be expected with items of this nature and with a little splintering and a small area of loss to the heel of the left chappal, otherwise generally VG, 3

Provenance: The chappals were gifted by Gandhi to Franziska Standenath (1883-1971). Standenath, or ´Savitri´ as she was named by Gandhi, was a scholar of Indian politics and history, and the author of Indiens Freiheitskampf: Vier Monate Gast Mahatma Gandhis (1931; ´India's fight for freedom: four months as a guest of Mahatma Gandhi´). The work is an important account of the four months she spent travelling throughout India with Gandhi as his personal assistant. Gandhi and Savitri remained life-long friends and, in her last will and testament Standenath recounted the occasion when Gandhi removed his chappals and gave them to her as a parting gift (´.....die für mich als Abschiedsgeschenk von seinen Fuß gestreiften Sandalen Mahatma Gandhis...´).

This extraordinary pair of chappals are believed to have been personally made by Gandhi, famously a man of few possessions, having learnt woodworking skills from his friend Hermann Kallenbach in the 1910s. Along with his circular spectacles, homespun loin-cloth, and walking staff, Gandhi´s sandals have become one of the most powerful and emblematic symbols of his life and vastly influential legacy.

Not only a utilitarian accessory, the chappals are also the symbol of Gandhi´s long marches as a sign of non-violent political protest, including the 24-day Salt March of 12th March to 6th April 1930 in which Gandhi led over seventy trusted volunteers across more than 380 kilometres in a campaign against the British salt monopoly. Also, on 2nd January 1947 (at the age of seventy-seven), Gandhi began his march for peace in East Bengal on his way to the state of Bihar, stopping in every village in an attempt to reconcile Hindus and Muslims. It would be one of his last significant protests before his assassination the following year.