By . Scarlett Russell . and Catherine Hardy . They might appear to be a relatively modern phenomenon but 'mandals' - or sandals for men - were also a hit with the Victorians. Now a rare 19th century pair of mandals are to appear in a new exhibition celebrating the life and work of artist, William Morris. The sandals, which date from the 1880s, were a favourite choice of footwear for the artist, who is best known for his elaborate wallpaper designs, and, say curators, reflect his radical brand of left-wing politics. On trend: This pair of Victorian sandals belonged to Edward Carpenter who helped popularise them in the UK . Speaking in an interview with the Guardian cultural historian Fiona MacCarthy told of his overwhelming belief that 'beauty was a basic human birthright'. As a result, despite his membership of the Socialist League, he wasn't immune to the odd vanity project, including encasing his copy of Marx' famous treatise, Das Kapital, in gold. 'Only William Morris would encase Karl Marx in a gold-tooled binding,' added MacCarthy. 'It was part of his religion of nothing but the best – not for the elitist connoisseur but nothing but the best for the whole populace.' Despite his lofty ideals, much of Morris' work ended up on the walls of the Victorian elite, although his 'art for everyone' philosophy made him enormously popular. And one of the ways he showed off his left-wing credentials was by adopting the mandal, an Indian fashion popularised in the UK by Morris' friend, philosopher Edward Carpenter. Portrait of an artist: William Morris' radical politics have influenced intellectuals for generations . Family: William Morris (back row right) with his friend Sir Edward Burne-Jones and their wives and children . 'Carpenter was the man who introduced the sandal to left-wing circles,’ reveals MacCarthy. ‘They became a kind of cult among left-leaning middle-class intellectuals. But the National Portrait Gallery exhibition, which opens on the 16th October, isn't only about Morris and his mandals. Among the 140 artifacts starring in the exhibition is a beautiful portrait of Morris' wife Jane as well as some rather risqué gardening tools. One, the Adam and Eve roller created by sculptor Eric Gill, features a relief of a couple entwined together in the throes of lust. Other highlights include striking pieces by Bernard Leach and Terence Conran, as well as furniture and jewellery that belonged to Morris himself. Anarchy & Beauty: William Morris And His Legacy, 1860-1960, opens at the National Portrait Gallery on the 16th October and runs until the 11th January 2015. For more information, see npg.org.uk . Write caption here . Despite their popularity with modern lefties and the odd stylish yachtsman, the men's sandal - or mandal - has a long and, at times, glorious history. The shoe of choice for nearly every ancient culture, among them the Greeks, Romans and chilly-toed Iron Age Britons, sandals were cheap and easy to make using anything from leather to tree bark. Indeed, the world's oldest mandals, thought to be 10,000 years old, are made of bark and were discovered in the Fort Rock Cave in Oregon, which itself is believed to be well over 13,000 years old. The word sandal itself, however, didn't come into being for another 8,000 years and was coined by the ancient Greeks, who called them 'sandalon'. Greek men could choose between baxeae, which were made from willow twigs, and the cothurnus, a calf-length boot sandal which was worn by VIPs and politicians, and in an echo of former French president Nicholas Sarkozy, was often fitted with a thick cork sole to give the wearer extra height. Later incarnations included the caligae, a Roman mandal used on marches, and the Paduka, an Indian knob-fronted sandal that has neolithic antecedents but is still popular today. The Paduka was also partially responsible for the mandals' reintroduction into the UK more than two millennia after Britons discovered how to make closed-toe boots. Worn by Edward Carpenter during a visit to India, the shoes proved so comfortable he set up a sandal-making workshop near Manchester on his return home and in doing so, kickstarted a left-wing footwear trend that continues to this day. Beautiful: Morris' wife Janey, seen here in a Rossetti painting, was a Pre-Raphaelite muse .
Mandals were reintroduced in the 1880s by philosopher Edward Carpenter .
One early adopter was his friend William Morris who popularised them .
Quickly proved enormously popular among left-wing intellectuals .
19th century mandals appear in new William Morris exhibition .
Explores the artist's life and radical left-wing beliefs .
By . Scarlett Russell . and Catherine Hardy . They might appear to be a relatively modern phenomenon but 'mandals' - or sandals for men - were also a hit with the Victorians. Now a rare 19th century pair of mandals are to appear in a new exhibition celebrating the life and work of artist, William Morris. The sandals, which date from the 1880s, were a favourite choice of footwear for the artist, who is best known for his elaborate wallpaper designs, and, say curators, reflect his radical brand of left-wing politics. On trend: This pair of Victorian sandals belonged to Edward Carpenter who helped popularise them in the UK . Speaking in an interview with the Guardian cultural historian Fiona MacCarthy told of his overwhelming belief that 'beauty was a basic human birthright'. As a result, despite his membership of the Socialist League, he wasn't immune to the odd vanity project, including encasing his copy of Marx' famous treatise, Das Kapital, in gold. 'Only William Morris would encase Karl Marx in a gold-tooled binding,' added MacCarthy. 'It was part of his religion of nothing but the best – not for the elitist connoisseur but nothing but the best for the whole populace.' Despite his lofty ideals, much of Morris' work ended up on the walls of the Victorian elite, although his 'art for everyone' philosophy made him enormously popular. And one of the ways he showed off his left-wing credentials was by adopting the mandal, an Indian fashion popularised in the UK by Morris' friend, philosopher Edward Carpenter. Portrait of an artist: William Morris' radical politics have influenced intellectuals for generations . Family: William Morris (back row right) with his friend Sir Edward Burne-Jones and their wives and children . 'Carpenter was the man who introduced the sandal to left-wing circles,’ reveals MacCarthy. ‘They became a kind of cult among left-leaning middle-class intellectuals. But the National Portrait Gallery exhibition, which opens on the 16th October, isn't only about Morris and his mandals. Among the 140 artifacts starring in the exhibition is a beautiful portrait of Morris' wife Jane as well as some rather risqué gardening tools. One, the Adam and Eve roller created by sculptor Eric Gill, features a relief of a couple entwined together in the throes of lust. Other highlights include striking pieces by Bernard Leach and Terence Conran, as well as furniture and jewellery that belonged to Morris himself. Anarchy & Beauty: William Morris And His Legacy, 1860-1960, opens at the National Portrait Gallery on the 16th October and runs until the 11th January 2015. For more information, see npg.org.uk . Write caption here . Despite their popularity with modern lefties and the odd stylish yachtsman, the men's sandal - or mandal - has a long and, at times, glorious history. The shoe of choice for nearly every ancient culture, among them the Greeks, Romans and chilly-toed Iron Age Britons, sandals were cheap and easy to make using anything from leather to tree bark. Indeed, the world's oldest mandals, thought to be 10,000 years old, are made of bark and were discovered in the Fort Rock Cave in Oregon, which itself is believed to be well over 13,000 years old. The word sandal itself, however, didn't come into being for another 8,000 years and was coined by the ancient Greeks, who called them 'sandalon'. Greek men could choose between baxeae, which were made from willow twigs, and the cothurnus, a calf-length boot sandal which was worn by VIPs and politicians, and in an echo of former French president Nicholas Sarkozy, was often fitted with a thick cork sole to give the wearer extra height. Later incarnations included the caligae, a Roman mandal used on marches, and the Paduka, an Indian knob-fronted sandal that has neolithic antecedents but is still popular today. The Paduka was also partially responsible for the mandals' reintroduction into the UK more than two millennia after Britons discovered how to make closed-toe boots. Worn by Edward Carpenter during a visit to India, the shoes proved so comfortable he set up a sandal-making workshop near Manchester on his return home and in doing so, kickstarted a left-wing footwear trend that continues to this day. Beautiful: Morris' wife Janey, seen here in a Rossetti painting, was a Pre-Raphaelite muse .
hit with the Victorians. Now a rare 19th century pair of mandals are to appear in a new exhibition celebrating the life and work of artist, William Carpenter who helped popularise them in the UK . philosophy made him enormously popular. And one fashion popularised in the UK by Morris' friend, philosopher Edward Carpenter. Portrait of an artist: William Morris' radical politics have