TRC Blog: Textile Moments

Watteau in the Teylers Museum, Haarlem.

“Watteau” is an exhibition now at the Teylers Museum in Haarlem. There is much to interest anyone with a love for fashion and textiles at this exhibit. Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684-1721) was an influencial French painter, famous for his depictions of prosperous people enjoying themselves at the theatre, dances, hunts and in nature. Watteau himself was fascinated by costumes and fashion. Clothing is prominent in the many prints and chalk sketches on display.

During his life time, French dress was changing from a heavy and ornate style, espoused by King Louis XIV, to less restrictive and simpler wear. This trend was influenced by a revival of interest in ancient Rome and Greece—and in what 18th century Europeans thought the ancients wore. Silk, velvet and brocade were popular materials in 18th century France and a lighter material, a mix of silk and cotton called bombazine, was also coming into fashion.

Watteau’s passion for dress is clear from the dozens of etchings, prints and paintings on display. He drew peasants and soldiers, but also Persians (an official Persian envoy reached Paris in 1715), merchants and aristocrats, always highlighting their clothing. Watteau also drew fashion plates himself. These were commissioned, not by fashion houses, but by publishers who wanted to profit from the public’s eagerness for fashion.

A very clear idea of contemporary French style emerges: men in flared coats and breeches, women in long gowns with wide hips made using metal paniers or hoops. Both men and women’s clothing is beautifully embroidered, details which Watteau meticulously represents in his work. The patterns reminded me of many designs in TRC’s Van Gerwen collection of 16th to 18th century European silks and velvets.

Fortunately there is also a real 18th century woman’s dress on display at the exhibit, loaned by the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. This is a beautiful cream-coloured silk dress, dated around 1760, worn for both day and evening wear. The dress is damask, with woven stripes and tendrils, and decorated in a multi-coloured pattern of flowers. There are deep box pleats from shoulder to floor at the back. Watteau painted this type of gown so often that this style is actually called pli Watteau.

In an age without mass communication, Watteau’s paintings and drawings helped to spread ideas of fashionable wear. Also on display are masks and costumes, futuristic and whimsical in turn, created specifically for the exhibit by fashion students of the Rietveld Academy. Watteau is still inspiring fashion today.

“Watteau” is on until 14 May at the Teylers Museum: www.teylersmuseum.nl

Shelley Anderson, 25th April 2017

British wounded soldiers sewing for Syrian/Palestinian refugees.

We just came across a remarkable photograph housed in the Library of Congress. The photograph is particularly poignant considering the current situation in the Middle East. But it also illustrates an old relationship between sewing, embroidering, and the military.

The Red Cross caption card tells the following: "British soldiers sewing for the Syrian refugees. A favorite pastime which has excellent results is the work of the convalescent soldiers now recuperating in Egypt... The men are busily making clothes for the destitute inhabitants of Palestine." The photograph probably dates to the period 1917-1920.

Sewing and working embroidery were often used in the past to help soldiers recovering from war-time wounds and traumas. TRC Needles provides some examples. Compare for instance the Bradford Khaki Handicrafts Club, which was established in 1918 in Bradford, West Yorkshire, UK, to provide occupational therapy and employment for men returning from the First World War (1914-1918).

The Casdagli sampler, 1941.

Another example is a piece of embroidery made by Major Alexis Casdagli during the Second World War (1939-1945). He was captured in 1941 and remained a POW until the end of the war. While in captivity, he worked an embroidery that contained hidden messages worked in Morse code ("God save the King", and "Fuck Hitler"). During his captivity, Casdagli also ran a needlework school for other officers in the POW camps. He later said that the Red Cross saved his life with food parcels and letters, but his embroidery saved his sanity: “If you sit down and stitch you can forget about other things, and it’s very calming.”

Finally there is private Thomas Walker, who was wounded in 1854 during the Crimean War. He was painted by Thomas Wood while sewing triangles from pieces of military uniforms. The Morning Chronicle tells us the following:

Tuesday, December 25, 1855: The Queen has forwarded to Private Thomas Walker, 95th Regiment, a present of £10. On her Majesty's last visit to Fort Pitt she was struck with a quilt brought to her notice as the work of Walker, and desired that it might be forwarded to her Majesty, which has recently been done through Colonel C. B. Phipps.

Private Walker, by Thomas William Wood, 1856.

Monday, March 3, 1856: An artist is engaged in the Military Hospital, Fort Pitt, Chatham, completing an oil painting of Thomas Walker, 95th Regiment, who has been an inmate at the hospital for fourteen months, during which period the entire top of his skull has been removed by skilfull operation at different periods by Mr. William Perry, surgical operator. The painting, which is intended for an exhibition, represents Thomas Walker in bed, busily engaged sewing together pieces of different coloured cloth, for the purpose of making the quilt which the Queen, upon seeing, was pleased to order to be sent to the palace. A part of the pattern is represented in the picture lying outside the bed. It was at the battle of Inkerman this youth received his wound, by a shell bursting directly over his head, which it fractured in the most extraordinary manner, causing insensibility for several days, until a piece of bone which pressed on his brain was removed.

Gillian and Willem Vogelsang, 25th April 2017

Detail of a cowgirl shirt embroidered with horse rider. TRC 2017.0267

Pepin van Rooijen of Pepin Press, Amsterdam, recently donated many boxes of textiles to the TRC. Among them are some welcome additions to our North American collection: cowgirl clothes. Sometimes called Western wear, these items include long sleeve, plaid shirts (TRC 2017.0252 and TRC 2017.0253) and shirts with distinctive piping around the yoke and snap buttons (TRC 2017.0269 and TRC 2017.0264), sometimes embroidered with horses or red roses (TRC 2017.0257, TRC 2017.0267, TRC 2017.0253). There is an iconic buckskin-like jacket with fringes and an accompanying leather skirt with fringes on the hem (TRC 2017.0274 and TRC 2017.0275).

Leather and snakeskin 'cowgirl' boots. TRC 2017.0272a-b.

Western wear evolved during the nineteenth century in the American West for work in harsh conditions. There were many influences: buffalo skin coats, moccasins (worn before the mass production of boots) and decorative fringes on leather garments came from Native Americans; broad-brimmed hats, heavy belts decorated with silver, and leather chaps originated from Spanish and Mexican riders, as did the custom of embroidering red roses on shirts. Chaps evolved from a sort of leather apron, split in half in order to wrap around the legs to protect valuable cloth trousers from being damaged by cacti or dirt.

The story of Western wear is also the story of American business: the use of plaid, or tartan, supposedly arose from Scottish
traders exchanging such cloth for goods by Native Americans. The iconic ten-gallon hat was invented by a hat maker from New Jersey, who moved to the West for his health. John B. Stetson fashioned a felt hat with a wide brim to keep off the sun; he gave his hat a water proof lining so he could also use it as a water bucket. Westerners liked his invention: he started mass producing hats in 1865. Shoemaker Charles Hyer of Kansas is said to have created the cowboy boot in the mid-1870s, getting inspiration from the boots that soldiers wore during the American Civil War (1861-1865). Also in the 1870s, a German immigrant named Levi Strauss started marketing tough work trousers made of blue denim, reinforced with rivets for more strength.

Detail of a cowgirl shirt embroidered with horserider. TRC 2017.0267

Last but not least, many of the Western wear garments recently acquired by the TRC carry the brand name Roebuck. This brand was launched in 1949 by one of America’s biggest retailers, the Sears Company, to advertise their blue jeans. By the 1950s, films and television Westerns had made cowboy wear popular in all parts of the USA. The Sears’ jeans were advertised as “friendly fittin’ as a western saddle.” The brand continues today as Sears’s line of work clothes. You can see more images of the TRC’s collection of Western wear at the TRC’s on-line catalogue.

Shelley Anderson, 12 April 2017

In the March 2017 issue of TextielPlus there was a long article about the TRC, its origins, work and the people who run this amazing place (if I may say so myself….). TextielPlus also helped organise a special day (8th April) at the TRC for its subscribers. This event consisted of two groups, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, of textile lovers, who had the chance of a guided tour of the TRC and its latest exhibition about dress and identity in the Middle East.

Both sets of visitors were very enthusiastic and enjoyed the visit to the storages, workshop, shop, as well as the exhibition. No one within the group had ever been to the TRC before, so it was a welcome opportunity to get to know each other. People had the chance to see some embroideries from the recently acquired Pepin Collection, which have featured in an earlier TRC Blog, namely a First World War flour bag embroidery, and a Gudetenland [sic] embroidery dating to the beginning of the Second World War. Two embroideries with two very different stories behind them.

The forthcoming Banjara Embroidery Crowd Funding was also discussed (starting on the 10th April 2017) and the ‘thank you’s’ were shown, including various examples of hand embroidered panels made by a group of nomadic Banjara women in southern India. These are beautiful pieces and are definitely textile ‘wants’. I suspect several donations will be coming via this talk!

A wide range of questions were posed about the running of the TRC, donations (object wise and financial) as well as its future. A number of people also signed up to become Friends of the TRC and offered help in various manners, which is much appreciated.

It was fun having the TextielPlus visitors, a group who are very familiar with the world of textiles and use this medium for various art forms. It was clear that they also understood and appreciated the TRC and what we do. It is our intention to have more open days at the TRC in the future. The next one will be on the 28th May 2017 and is being organised with the Dutch group Merkwaardig and will be about samples and samplers.

Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood, 9th April 2017

Machine embroidered memento of the German annexation of Gudetenland. TRC 2017.0423

A few months ago we were given a large collection of textiles and garments by Pepin van Rooijen of Pepin Press, Amsterdam. We are slowly going through the many boxes, photographing, cataloguing and numbering the contents. Various pieces and groups are now online, including Lebanese fashion garments, cowgirl outfits and garments (part of the USA collection), as well as many items of hand and machine lace.

The last few days have seen us looking at the embroidery boxes. One box in particular contained many examples of machine embroidery that represent various techniques and machines types. The box also included some surprises, such as a skilfully worked piece of machine embroidery depicting the mythical phoenix bird and the text "Gruss aus Gudetenland!" Gudetenland [sic] used to be part of Czechoslovakia and consisted of a German speaking enclave (part of Sudetenland). In 1938 it became part of Germany following Hitler's annexation of Austria, Sudetenland and the Polish Corridor. After the end of the Second World War (1939-1945), Gudetenland was once again made part of Czechoslovakia, its name was changed and most of the German population was forced to emigrate.

The use of a German text and the image of a phoenix (a bird image relating to re-birth and resurgence) suggest that this embroidery dates to the late 1930's or early 1940's and reflects the annexation by Hitler's Germany of parts of what was then Czechoslovakia.

A second embroidery from one of the boxes is also related to war, but this time the First World War (1914-1918). From October 1914, various American and Canadian charities purchased food, including flour, for sending to Belgium. The flour mills started to send their flour in cotton bags to the Netherlands (which was neutral during the war). This vital commodity was then sent onto war stricken Belgium. Many of these bags had printed designs wishing the Belgian people peace or with patriotic symbols and messages. See also the TRC Needle entry on this subject.

Embroidered flower bag, First World War. TRC 2017.0422

These bags were re-used for a wide variety of functions, including garments, curtains, bedding and so forth. Many were also cut up and the printed sections were embroidered in Belgium and some of them then sent back to Canada and the USA as souvenirs, to raise money and as a way of saying 'thank you' for the flour.

Among the collection we were given by Pepin there is the front section of a flour bag that has been hand embroidered. The embroidered flour bag includes the texts "Campbell and Ottewell Peace Maker Patent Edmonton - Alta Bemis Winnipeg". There is also a large image of a flying dove (symbol of peace) carrying stalks of wheat. All of this indicates that this is a WW1 embroidered flour bag. The bag was produced by the Canadian flour milling company of Cambell and Ottewell of Edmonton, Alberta. The company was founded in 1899 under the name of the Dowling Milling Company by Ezia Dowling (died 1907). Its general manager was A. G. Campbell. In 1906 the company was sold to the partnership of Campbell and a man called Richard Phillip Ottewell (1848-1942). The mill was initially called the City Flour Mills and shortly afterwards re-named Campbell and Ottewell Co.

Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood, 5 April 2017

Publishing an on-line digital record of a collection allows the public greater access. That’s why the TRC has its entire collection of over 14,000 textiles, garments, accessories (headgear, footwear, jewellery, walking sticks, etc.), plus textile tools involved in hand spinning and weaving, on-line. While not every item has a detailed description or photograph yet, it does allow the interested public, including researchers and collectors, access to our international collection. This includes fragile items that might be damaged by light or moisture if put on public display.

Twelve Dutch museums for these same reasons joined hands in 2015 to share their collections via the on-line platform www.Modemuze.nl. A small but interesting display of real-time textiles and fashion accessories from this collaboration can be seen in Amsterdam’s Central Public Library (OBA). The handful of dresses chosen for display range from the traditional to the futuristic. The ‘traditional’ includes an evening gown of Queen Juliana (1909-2004), made in 1948 by the Swiss designer Erwin Dolder. It was worn on several occasions by the Queen, including during her first official visit to France in 1950. What intrigued me was that Princess Margaret wore the same gown in 1983, during a visit to Canada.

A more futuristic dress was made in 2015/2016 for the ‘Velero’ collection by designer Jef Montes, in cooperation with the Textielmuseum Tilburg. This was a floor-length, voluminous garment made with a mix of gold metallic thread, carbon and glass fibres. My favourite is a dress designed in 2002 by Dutch textile artist Claudy Jongstra. This is an elegant, strapless floor-length dress, made of felted wool and silk. It was commissioned by a Japanese woman for her wedding dress. It’s an off-white colour, which makes the vivid red phoenix stitched on the back even more striking. The large felted bow on the back is reminiscent of the obi on a traditional kimono. Interspersed between the dresses are displays of purses and hats—and lap tops where the visitor can access thousands of more textiles.

The exhibit is on until May 31. A series of lectures has also been organized: see www.oba.nl for more information. And don’t forget to look at some of the textiles in the TRC’s on-line collection at www.trc-leiden.nl/collection/. Every week new information is added to the database by a team of dedicated colleagues.

Shelley Anderson, 4th April 2017

His Excellency Mor Polycarpus Augin Aydin (Metropolitan of the Syriac Orthodox Church in The Netherlands), talking with one of the young guests.

Yesterday (1st April 2017) His Excellency Mor Polycarpus Augin Aydin (Metropolitan of the Syriac Orthodox Church in The Netherlands), opened the TRC’s latest exhibition, From Kaftan to Kippa: Dress and Diversity in the Middle East. This crowded, colourful and varied exhibition is one of the most complicated (and full) exhibitions ever attempted by the TRC.

And it works! The exhibition is based on the PhD thesis of Tineke Rooijakkers (Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam), who has been a TRC volunteer since she was a first-year archaeology student. It also forms part of a larger scale project (Fitting in / Standing out) of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, which is funded by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO). The aim of the project, and the current exhibition, is to show how people use clothing to express their desire to stand out in a crowd, and in some cases the exact opposite, to blend into a crowd.

The exhibition includes historical pieces, modern Islamic dress, Coptic outfits for the laity and clergy, Druze, Palestinian, Samaritan, Jewish, Syriac Orthodox Christian, as well as Bedouin and Kurdish garments. There are over eighty outfits for men, women and children, as well as accessories and textiles.

The opening of the exhibition was attended by over sixty people, who mingled among the mannequins to create an even bigger crowd. The opening welcome came from Dr. Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood, director of the TRC, who was followed by Prof. Bas ter Haar Romeny, who gave details about the history of the main project and how Tineke’s work fitted into the research programme.  Tineke subsequently gave a more personal view of her work on dress and diversity in Egypt and, more specifically, among the Coptic community. Prof Romeny presented His Excellency Mor Polycarpus with the first copy of the booklet accompanying the exhibition. His Excellency spoke some warm words of appreciation and expressed the wish to work with the TRC again in the near future. He thereupon officially opened the exhibition.

The Kurdish part of the exhibition was partially organized by the 'Federatie Koerden in Nederland' and it was only fitting that following the official opening Kurdish snacks and sweets were provided for the guests. The snacks were made by a Kurdish baker here in Leiden and were greatly appreciated by all.

The exhibition is open until the end of June 2017. It is then available to other institutes or museums for loan purposes. Every Wednesday afternoon at 14.00 there will be a guided tour of the exhibition. This will cost €7.50 pp (inc. tea/coffee) and will take about one hour. It is not necessary to book in advance, but if you are coming with a group it would be appreciated if you ring to make sure there are enough spaces free on the tour.

Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood, 2nd April 2017

It is not often that you see the entrance to a military museum covered with hundreds of colourful cotton Buddhist prayer flags (see a previous blog, dated 16 August 2014). But that is what first greets the visitor to the latest exhibition of the National Military Museum (in Soest, the Netherlands). The prayer flags are not the only textiles in the exhibition “Genghis Khan: World Conqueror”. There are some 800 objects on view, most of them on loan from the Inner Mongolia Museum in Hohhot, China.

The bulk of the objects relate to Genghis Khan (1162-1227) himself or to the Mongol Empire he created during 21 years of constant war. The objects include iron arrows from the Liao Dynasty (circa 907-1125 CE); quivers of birch bark or leather from the early 13th century; an 800-year old iron helmet; and a silver saddle and stirrups used today in ceremonial sacrifices to Genghis Khan. There are also beautifully preserved garments from China’s Yuan Dynasty (1260-1368 CE), the period when Genghis Khan’s grandson, Kublai Khan, united and ruled over China.

The first Yuan garment is a pair of baggy silk trousers, excavated in 2010. These trousers would be worn by a wealthy Mongol man, under a long sleeved silk robe that would reach above his ankles. The Chinese had been spinning and weaving silk for over 2000 years by this time; in some parts of China bolts of silk had been used as currency. Wearing silk was a public statement of wealth and power that the Mongols eagerly adopted.

Also on display is a government official’s robe made of hemp and cotton, in what looked to me like damask. Kublai Khan had decreed that all official uniforms had to have the right side of the robe folded over the left. This was a reversal of tradition. Interestingly, this man’s robe had a left lapel. A subtle sign of resistance to Mongol authority? Or some lower level bureaucrat who could not afford a newer robe?

Another Yuan robe, also a man’s, is similar in shape but of much better quality. This robe is woven with gold thread (nasij) in a pattern of sphinxes with crowns on their heads. Nasij is a brocade. The word comes from the Persian for ‘gold thread’. This type of weaving was highly prized by the Mongols, who reportedly moved whole villages of weavers from Central and Western Asia to China, in order to teach Chinese weavers how to make this cloth of gold.

In another part of the exhibition there is another Yuan-period garment. This is a Barag Mongol tribe woman’s dress, a silk brocade robe with long sleeves and puffy shoulders. Two modern garments are also on display. One is a modern Sunit man’s robe and trousers, the other a modern Mongol wrestler’s outfit, with a leather harness, baggy trousers and high leather boots.

There are other interesting objects pertaining to dress. One is a shaman’s robe (Qing Dynasty, 1644-1911), a gown covered in long, broad, multi-coloured silk ribbons, some of which end in red tassels. The ribbons are thought to symbolize feathers, indicating that the shaman (who could be female or male) could turn into a bird and fly. Bells, arrows and animal bones are also sewn on the garment, as are differently sized bronze discs, used as mirrors. A mask is also worn with the dress during ceremonies.

One other object deserves mention. This is a gugu crown, worn by upper-class married Mongol women. This one, too, is from the Yuan period. It is a tall, cylindrical object, made from bamboo and covered in silk and jewelry. It’s bifurcated at the top. Given the bamboo frame, such high status objects are fragile and rarely found intact.

“Genghis Khan: World Conqueror” is open now until 27 August 2017.

Shelley Anderson, 26 March 2017

Leila Ingrams, 1940-2015

Among the recent acquisitions to the TRC Collection are several unusual and interesting groups of objects. These include a small number of Yemeni garments given by the family of Laila Ingrams, who died recently. She was the daughter of Harold and Doreen Ingrams, the famous British writers and explorers of the Arabian Peninsula. The garments include items for both men and women. One of the more intriguing items is a dress from the island of Socotra, which lies to the south of Yemen. The TRC already has a comparable garment, also from Socotra. We are still very puzzled about exactly how these garments were worn, so if you know and/or have photographs could you please let us know at Dit e-mailadres is beschermd tegen spambots. U heeft Javascript nodig om het te kunnen zien. ?

In complete contrast, Pepin van Roojen of Pepin Press (Amsterdam) has donated a collection of textiles and garments that include Islamic fashion, Chinese clothes, as well as, yes, cowgirl outfits and garments from the USA. The latter are especially welcome as they will help to build up our North American collection. We are going to create various digital exhibitions about these items.

As part of the Pepin donation there was also a large number of old postcards that are going to be scanned and put online for all to enjoy. These include Dutch costumes as well as many from the Middle East. In addition, there are a number of swatch books (from the USA, France and The Netherlands) as well as hundreds (literally) of textile samples dating to the 20th century, which were the property of an art expert in Paris, who worked with various Parisian fashion houses. Many of these samples are printed and represent typical and atypical textiles from the 20th century European/Western fashion market.

Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood, 19 March 2017

Impression of the Hermitage exhibition, "1917: Romanovs and Revolution"

“1917: Romanovs and Revolution” is the newest exhibition at the Hermitage in Amsterdam. It’s a timely exhibition, marking the centenary of the two revolutions that rocked Russia in 1917. The first revolution began on International Women’s Day (March 8) when women textile workers marched in the streets of Petrograd (now St. Petersburg) for an end to food shortages. Within days there was a general strike, and demonstrators were also demanding an end to Russia’s involvement in World War 1. It was this February Revolution which ended the 300-year-long Romanov monarchy.

A visitor learns this and much more from the excellent information texts (in Dutch and English) and the accompanying free audio guide. What is perhaps surprising is the substantial number of textiles on display. This includes a beautiful silk and wool wall hanging; and over a dozen garments worn by Tsar Nicholas II, Tsarina Alexandra (who was a granddaughter of Britain’s Queen Victoria), their five royal children, and other wealthy Russians of the time. Elite fashion was strongly influenced by the Art Nouveau movement, with multiple layers of rich, often semi-transparent fabric in strong colours, decorated with lace, beads and sequins. Hem length aside, many of the evening gowns could be worn on the cat walk today. Wealthy Russians had access to leading French fashion houses, as the green crepe-de-chine and silk atlas summer dress designed by couturier Paul Poiret shows. But the Romanov’s court also wore the creations of Russian designers, such as Anna Gindus’s silk and chiffon evening dress, decorated with glass beads, lace and fur; or the silk dresses on display by Nadezhda Lamanova.

There were several textiles that stood out for me. One was a red, short sleeved evening gown made of gauze, faille and tulle, with a beautiful floral beaded trim and fringe. Many Russians decorated their clothes with traditional peasant motifs during World War I, as a sign of patriotism. The beading reflects this. There is also a white cambric dress from the same period, decorated with Valenciennes lace, elaborate cutwork and English embroidery. Most evocative of all, however, were three day dresses, mostly of pink silk and gauze, worn by three of the Romanov princesses. This was displayed alongside a boy’s velvet military jacket worn by the Tsarevich.

“1917: Romanovs and Revolution” is not a fashion exhibition. But among the glassware, Faberge jewelry, military samovars and cooking pots (also made by Faberge for the war effort, along with hand grenades and artillery shells) are many photographs and prints, which illustrate the clothing worn by both ordinary people and the elite. There is also a collection of 32 porcelain figurines, given to the Tsar as a birthday gift, which show some of Russia’s minority communities (e.g., Mongol, Ainu, Armenians, Kazachs) in traditional dress. There is much to see for anyone interested in dress.

“1917: Romanovs and Revolution” is on until 17 September 2017.

Shelley Anderson, 10 March 2017

The TRC has a new acquisition: two pussy hats (TRC 2017.0186 and 0187). Pussy hats are hand-made, square-shaped caps made from wool or acrylic yarn, usually coloured pink. They can be knitted, crocheted or sewn. After Donald Trump won the US presidential election in November 2016, American knitters attempted to make over one million of such hats, to be given as gifts for marchers to wear at the Women’s March in Washington, DC. Patterns for the simple hat were shared via the Pussyhat Project website (www.pussyhatproject.com) and Facebook; many craft shops hosted groups of knitters making the hats. There were news reports of craft shops in different American cities being sold out of pink yarn. The deadline was 21 January 2017, the day of the Women’s March.

When a pussy hat is worn on the head, two tips appear, similar to a cat’s ears. This is not the origine of the cap’s name, however. The word ‘pussy’ in English is an insulting term for a woman’s genitals. In October 2016, during the presidential election campaign, The Washington Post newspaper released a video and accompanying article on lewd remarks made by Donald Trump about women. Recorded in a television studio parking lot in 2005, Trump told a television host: “I moved on her like a bitch, but I couldn't get there, and she was married. …I'm automatically attracted to beautiful [women]—I just start kissing them. It's like a magnet. Just kiss. I don't even wait. And when you're a star they let you do it. You can do anything ... Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything."

The remarks outraged many as condoning sexual assault. Trump was forced to apologize publicly for the remarks. #Pussygrabsback became a popular hashtag; an artist put the words across a picture of a snarling cat’s face and created a popular T-shirt. Knitters Krista Suh and Jayna Zweiman of Los Angelos, California (USA) thought of creating a symbol for women’s solidarity and so launched the Pussyhat Project: "It's reappropriating the word 'pussy' in a positive way….Wearing pink together is a powerful statement that we are unapologetically feminine and we unapologetically stand for women’s rights." Their knitting instructor, Kat Coyle, created a pattern that could be easily customized. All three wanted to celebrate the traditionally female work of knitting and crochet: "Knitting circles are sometimes scoffed at as frivolous 'gossiping circles,' when really, these circles are powerful gatherings of women, a safe space to talk, a place where women support women."

By December the group had collected sixty thousand hats, sent to them from all fifty US states—and from Europe and New Zealand. The pussyhat had gone international. So had the Women’s March. Scheduled for 21 January 2017, the day after Trump was inaugurated as US President, the March’s aim was to make a powerful statement for human rights. The organizers hoped two hundred thousand people would show up. Instead, over half a million came. Crowd specialists calculated that the protest march drew three times the number of people Trump’s inauguration had attracted. More than four hundred similar ‘Sister Marches’ took place all over the US, involving an estimated two million people. There were almost 200 further marches in solidarity all over the world, throughout Europe, Africa, Asia and the Pacific, South America. There was a march in Iraq; another one inside a cancer hospital in Los Angeles and yet another on a research ship in Antarctica. Three thousand people gathered in front of the National Museum in Amsterdam for the March and another one thousand in the Hague. Worldwide between three to four million people participated on 21 January. And a good number of them wore pink pussyhats.

The pink woollen hats now in the TRC collection were made by the Rev. Ramona Scarpace on a circle frame. One (TRC 2017.0187) was worn on 21 January 2017 at the Women’s March in St. Paul, Minnesota (USA) by the knitter's partner, the Rev. Georgianna Smith. The official police estimate for the number of participants at this march was ninety thousand people.

23 February 2017. Shelley Anderson

The Tassenmuseum, Amsterdam

It’s always fun to sneak a peak inside someone else’s hand bag. Especially when the hand bag belongs to royalty. That is exactly what visitors get to do at the latest exhibit at Amsterdam’s Museum of Bags and Purses (Tassenmuseum). The exhibition “Royal Bags: Bags of European Royal Families” (on until 26 February) displays bags and purses that belonged to Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth I; Empress Sisi of Austria, Princess Grace of Monaco and Queen Elizabeth II.

Sisi had particularly well-stocked travel luggage; Princess Grace’s brown leather bag by Hermes is still produced and known by her last name: the Kelly bag. Queen Elizabeth II famously carries an ingenious little hook which is used to hang her bag from tables. Both these royals’ bags held or hold little except a handkerchief, glasses and lip stick. The Dutch Royal family is not neglected: on display are three handbags personally chosen by Queen Maxima from the former Queen Juliana’s collection. One of them, a golden handbag, has also been carried on different state occasions by Queen Maxima herself.

The display is an interesting statement on the role fashion plays in establishing status and authority. The Museum’s permanent display of bags and purses also makes a visit worthwhile. The Tassenmuseum is only one of three hand bag museums in the world, and the only one of its kind in Europe. Its collection of over 5000 bags and purses is amazing. The permanent display gives the history of the European purse from the 1500’s onwards, from a mediaeval English alms purse to an elegant Chanel hand bag. In its earliest form, mostly worn by men, leather bags with drawstrings were worn from belts to carry objects like coins, gaming pieces, combs or religious relics. The oldest bag in the collection is on display, a goatskin bag with 18 compartments (some of them secret), worn by a 16th century man in France.

By the 17th century pockets began to appear in men’s clothing, so it was women who mostly used bags, to carry money, sewing equipment, keys, combs and writing tablets. One of my favourite objects on display is a rare pair of stocking purses—beautifully embroidered pear-shaped bags (usually of cotton or linen), with strings so they could be tied around the waist. A woman would wear these bags under her skirt, on each hip. There were slits in her skirt to allow access to the bags. I also enjoyed the beautiful nineteenth century beaded bags. In the early nineteenth century these bags were knitted with glass beads (usually from Czech or Bavarian glass factories). Fifty thousand beads had to be strung in the right order before knitting began, so as to produce the right design. No wonder each bag took about two weeks to complete. By the end of the nineteenth century it became cheaper to weave such bags. The bags were still beautiful—and practical, just as today’s bag. The Tassenmuseum’s collection is on-line, with information in both Dutch and English: www.tassenmuseum.nl  

Shelley Anderson, 19 February 2017

The TRC has recently been given a hand-knitted Fair Isle cap (TRC 2017.0006) for a child, by a good friend of the TRC's, namely Brigitta Schreuder. Her father-in-law used to travel in the 1960s as a guest on merchant ships and went to many places around the world. He would buy a souvenir at each of his ports of call, including the Fair Isle, which is an island that lies off the northern coast of Scotland. It belongs to the Shetland Island group. The island has long been famous for the production of knitted goods, including caps, gloves, jumpers, and so forth, which were originally worn by the fishermen, but became fashion statements in the twentieth century. The cap now in the TRC collection has been examined by Lies van de Wege (TRC volunteer) and she has made a pattern chart that can be used for knitting, embroidery, beadwork, and so forth. So have a look and enjoy!

Here is the original:

Fair Isle knitted cap. TRC 2017.0006

Jane Austen (1775-1817), by Cassandra Austen, c. 1810.

This morning Willem and I spent several house at the National Portrait Gallery (NPG), here in London. It was amazing to see so many of the original portraits (and some new ones) again that we had used for entries in TRC Needles - especially the Tudor and Stuart portraits with their blackwork collars, ruffs, embroidered gloves and so forth. We saw for instance the portrait of Katherine Parr, the sixth wife of Henry VIII. We also saw a double portrait of Lady Dacre and her son George (c. 1559). The same formidable lady is also portrayed (click here) on a canvas now in the National Portrait Gallery of Canada, made by the Dutch artist Hans Ewouts.

We sneaked a look at the tiny miniature of Jane Austen - it is so delicate. Last summer we visited various places linked to her, as for instance her grave in Winchester Cathedral and the house where she died, but also the places where she walked around, and danced, in Bath (see our blog of 7 August 2016).

It is worth noting that the NPG has a fashion trail by Lucinda Chambers, the Fashion Director of the British Vogue. It is callled "Height of Fashion Trail" and covers 500 years of British fashion in a select number of portraits. It would be fun to do an embroidery and/or lace trail using the NPG Collection!

Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood, 20 January 2017

Embroidered prayer mat from Afghanistan

Last night (19th January 2017) Willem and I attended the official opening of a beautiful exhibition about embroidered and woven textiles and garments at the Brunei Gallery (SOAS) in London. The exhibition is called "Embroidered Tales, Woven Dreams" and was curatored by Marian Bukhari. It will be on display until the 25th March 2017. The exhibition includes a wide range of textiles and garments from Afghanistan, Central Asia, the Indian subconintent, as well as the Middle East. The chance to see such a wide range of objects in one location is worth an applause and a visit to the exhibition.

Many of the items on display come from Marian Bukhari's personal collection, as well as several other private collections. The exhibition is designed to show the lives of various groups whose ancestors lived along the famous Silk Road. The stated aim of the exhibition is to tell the story of these people (past and present) and how as their: "embroideries flourished, they became a record of their history, social customs, folk tales and myths as heredity wisdom and skills were passed down from mother to daughter in an attempt to guard their techniques and traditions in textiles."

The exhibition is displayed on three floors of the Brunei Gallery and includes a series of regionally dressed mannequins, a wide range of embroidered textiles (hanging and on panels), paintings, manuscripts, as well as stylised, life-sized cut-outs of camels and oxen (which may sound a little strange but they do add to the atmosphere of the exhibition). There is also a series of tableaus that depict various groups, such as a large 'orange' room with a tableau featuring what appears to be a wedding group. I say what appears to be with a degree of caution because when we were there there were no text boards yet in the exhibition that explain individual groups or objects, which was somewhat disappointing. Text boards with the very general line of "Afghanistan", "Indus" etc, are present, but nothing else.

As noted by Marian Bukhari in her opening speech, she wanted the individal embroideries to speak for the women who made the objects (although in some cases some of the items on display were probably made by men in professional workshops, rather than by women at home). There were also technical problems with the exhibition because of the delay in the arrival of essential display materials and many items that should have been displayed were not presented on the opening night. I understand that next week all the items will be displayed and information about the individal items will be added to all of the pieces as they are not only beautiful and a feast for the eyes, but, as stated by Marian Bukhari, they also have stories behind them and I would dearly love to 'hear' some of these stories as well.

Giliian Vogelsang-Eastwood, 20 January 2017

Willem and I have spent the last few days in London, basically because I was asked to give a lecture to the Oriental Rug and Textile Society of Great Britain about the work of the TRC. This was given in the evening of the 18th January to a full house in the meeting room of an 18th century church in the centre of London. It was fun talking about the TRC: its origins, the wide range of acivities, its ever expanding collection, and the plans for the future. A group from the society will be coming to The Netherlands in March and will be spending some time at the TRC.

Today Willem and I, plus a textile friend, Caroline Stone from Cambridge, spent some time at the Victoria and Albert Museum looking at two very different exhibitions. The first was about Lockwood Kipling, father of Rudyard Kipling, the famous British author of books such as Kim and Jungle Book. Lockwood Kipling visited the Great Exhibition of 1851 and became fascinated with Indian arts and crafts. He moved to India and was involved in the development of a wide range of crafts, especially in the Punjab region of the country. He also helped to establish an art academy in Lahore. Lockwood Kipling was also involved in the British arts and crafts movement, including the design and production of textiles and embroideries. An interesting exhibition about an influencial artist and designer, who has been overshadowed by the work of his son.

The main reason for going to the Museum, however, was to see their Opus Anglicanum exhibition (which finishes on the 5th of February, 2017, so you may need to hurry). This is a wonderful exhibition that takes the visitor through the different types of 'English' gold, silver and silk embroidery that was produced in London and various ecclesiastical centres from about the 12th to the mid-14th century (and the Black Death plague), when many people died, including skilled embroiderers. It has been argued that Opus Anglicanum, and English embroidery in general, never again reached the same standard of metal thread and silk embroidery. Opus Anglicanum was desired, commissioned and used by the medieval courts and churches throughout Europe. It was even regarded as a suitable gift for various popes, hence so many pieces being preserved and housed in European ecclesiastical collections.

The London exhibition has many famous examples of Opus Anglicanum on display, including the Syon Cope, the Toledo cope, and the Vatican cope, but also various chasubles (including the Clare chasuble), and dalmatics, as well as a beautiful little figure of a knight from Stonyhurst College that dates to early 14th century. There are also a number of orphreys, burses, and panels in general. But also the 'achievements' of the Black Prince (see the TRC Needles entry)!

Attention is also paid in the exhibition to the professional embroiderers (men and women) and the tools that they used (based on archaeological finds from various quarters of medieval London). The methods of working are also explained by various videos, which are extremly helpful. The chance to see so many pieces of Opus Anglicanum in one place is truely amazing and thanks to the help of various museums throughout the world the exhibition provides a rare insight into this brilliant (literally) form of embroidery.

The exhibition is accompanied by a superbly executed catalogue with magnificent photographs. It is entitled: English Medieval Embroidery. Opus Anglicanum. It is edited by Clare Browne, Glyn Davies and M.A. Michael. It is published by Yale University Press, in associated with the Victoria and Albert Museum. Year of publication: 2016. Amazon.uk.

The exhibition was presented in collaboration with the London firm of Hand & Lock, an embroidery company that specialises in metal thread embroidery. We actually went to see them yesterday to discuss their celebratory programme for this year. The firm will be celebrating its 250th anniversary in the summer of 2017. More details about their work and celebrations can be found at the Hand and Lock website. 

After our visit to the Victoria and Albert Museum, Willem and I walked back to our hotel via Liberty's of London, the famous shop just off Regent Street, which dates back to the late 19th century. Their textile department is well worth a visit (if you like the Liberty style of course!). Tonight we are going to the opening of an exhibition called 'Embroidered Tales and Woven Dreams' at the Brunei Gallery, SOAS, London. More details about this exhibition will be given in our next blog.

Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood, 19 January 2017

Papal slippers, on display in the museum of the Apostolic Palace, Castel Gandolfo.

Today Gillian and I had the chance to go to Castel Gandolfo, the summer retreat of the popes, just outside of Rome. Well, the new pope, Franciscus, has to date declined the honour of going there for the summer. Instead he prefers to stay in the Vatican, since, as he allegedly said, many other Romans do not have a summer retreat either. But Franciscus is still very much present in the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo: a large portrait of his hangs next to that of his immediate predecessors, and what a difference! It may have been the painter(s), but next to that of Benedictus XVI, looking stern and, forgive me, very German, and that of John-Paul II looking benign but dressed in full, traditional, papal regalia, it is Franciscus who looks simple and positively sympathetic, with friendly eyes following you, and being dressed in basic attire (including normal lace-up shoes, rather than the silk, pontifical slippers worn by his predecesssors).

But that was not all at Castel Gandolfo. The museum downstairs houses a plethora of papal vestments, and also the elaborate garments (military, diplomatic, etc) worn by the men (!) in his immediate surroundings. Some of them very military in style. The embroidery on some of the garments and other textiles, often worked with gold thread, was absolutely stunning. Finally, when in the Villa d'Este a few days ago we were struck by the imitation tapestries having (quickly) been painted onto almost all of the walls, at Castel Gandolfo we saw many 'real' tapestries, and fragments of tapestries that had been framed and hung from the wall. Alas there were no books or further information about the palace, textiles or more particularly the embroideries, but perhaps that will be organised in the future. Well worth seeing for anyone visiting Rome. The vast gardens are also worth a visit. There is a special trip through the huge gardens in a little white train that takes about one hour.

Gillian and Willem Vogelsang, 31 December 2016

Fresco, or imitation tapestry, showing a hunting scene, in the Villa d'Este, Italy, late sixteenth century.

Two days ago Gillian and I spent a glorious Boxing Day at the Villa Hadriani and the Villa d'Este, both located some kilometres east of Rome. The Villa d'Este is particularly known for its gardens and many (some five hundred) fountains. The buildings and gardens all date to the second half of the sixteenth century; a curious twist of history is the fact that the architect of the Villa and its gardens used the ruins of the Villa Hadriani for inspiration, and for cheap building materials. Cheap? Well, not all of it. The costly coloured marble used by the Romans was equally costly, if not more so, in the sixteenth century. Admittedly, it was more or less free for grabs. The gardens are indeed spectacular.

But what struck us most inside the house were the frescoes. All the rooms, and there are many of them, are decorated with beautiful paintings of hunting scenes, mythological and legendary events, etc. These all the more underlined their use as a relatively cheap replacement for costly tapestries. Many of the frescoes in the House were clearly painted in imitation of tapestries, together with folded and draped edges, tassels, etc. It is evident that there is a close link between the cartoons used for the tapestries and those used for the frescoes at the Villa d'Este (and probably also elsewhere).

Gillian and Willem Vogelsang, 28 December 2016

Een bijdrage van Esmeralda Zee, ‘ vriend’ van het TRC. Zij verblijft een aantal weken in Nepal. Hier volgt haar eerste verslag.

Vlak voordat we uit Nederland vertrokken kreeg ik van Gillian Vogelsang, directeur TRC, het verzoek om wat achtergrondinformatie te verzamelen over borduurwerk in Nepal. Dus toen wij in de Nepalese hoofdstad Kathmandu aankwamen keek ik met ‘borduur-ogen’ om mij heen. Op de eerste dag gingen wij naar de beroemde Swayanbunath tempel. Onderweg liepen we langs een smal pad, waar allemaal kleine, overdekte marktkraampjes stonden, die allerlei kettingen, sieraden, beeldjes en toeristensnuisterijen verkochten. Tot mijn grote verrassing, en kijkend met mijn ‘borduurogen’, was er ook een kraampje waar een 63- jarige man, Ram Chandra geheten, op een borduurraam aan het borduren was. Het bleek een speciale Indiase borduurtechniek te zijn, waarbij je met een speciale naald kleine lusjes vlak naast elkaar door de dunne, katoenen stof heen duwt. Die lusjes worden dan later met een scherpe platte schaar tegelijk afgeknipt, zodat er een soort fluweelachtig effect ontstaat. Door ook nog de lengte van de afgeknipte lusjes te variëren ontstaat er een reliëf. De afbeeldingen bestonden uit religieuze onderwerpen, zoals de god van de wijsheid, Ganesha met een olifantenhoofd en de zoon van Vishnu.

Ram Chandra had de techniek indertijd van zijn vader geleerd en nu hij met pensioen was vond het het een goede tijdsbesteding. Hij verkocht ook papieren patronen, losse speciale borduurnaalden, losse gekleurde kluwen zijde en grote houten, ronde borduurramen. Zijn zoon had er geen belangstelling voor en verdiende op een voor hem gemakkelijker manier geld, namelijk in de meubelhandel. Ik maakte een aantal foto’s en video-opnames, kocht zijn eigen borduurraam met een onafgemaakt patroon van een pauw (lang leven), een aantal borduurnaalden, patronen en kluwen zijde, een Ganesha- én pauwen-afbeelding en prijsde mijzelf buitengewoon gelukkig dat ik al de eerste dag zoveel succes geboekt had in het onderzoek. Toen ik na het weekeinde terugkwam om hem nog wat te vragen, had hij intussen al zijn borduurramen en veel kluwen van zijde en patronen verkocht en was bezig de aan mij verkochte Ganesha-afbeelding opnieuw te borduren…….. Dus er bleek hier nog belangstelling voor te zijn!

Toen we twee dagen later de enorme Bodanath stoepa bezochten, in het oosten van Kathmandu, zag ik in een van de talloze toeristenwinkeltjes die rondom de stoepa staan, machinaal geborduurde artikelen, zoals beursjes, tasjes, tot en met grote reistassen toe, geborduurd op synthetisch suède. Deze Kashmir-achtige techniek, bestaande uit patronen in fijne kettingsteek, wordt door mannen op een trapmachine geborduurd in een dorpje vlakbij Kirtipur, twee uur met de auto ten oosten van Kathmandu. Helaas wilde men mij niet de naam van het dorpje vertellen, waarschijnlijk bang dat ik zakelijke exportbedoelingen had…..

In Thamel, dé toeristenwijk van Kathmandu, bestaande uit smalle straatjes met aaneengeregen winkeltjes voor toeristen, reisbureautjes, exportbedrijfjes, hotelletjes en eethuisjes, ontdekte ik nog kledingwinkels die in kettingsteek, machinaal- én handgeborduurde sjaals, jurken en jasjes verkochten, geïmporteerd uit de Indiase provincie Kashmir, in felle kleuren en met grote bloemmotieven. De kwaliteit verschilde enorm. Sommige jurken waren karig geborduurd en andere overdadig. Helaas waren de jurken vaak kuit- tot enkellang. De prijzen van de jasjurken varieerden van 80 tot 800 euro, afhankelijk van stofkwaliteit en fijnheid, en de kwaliteit van het borduursel.

Esmeralda Zee, 16 december 2016

Linen garment, ascribed to St. Jerome (d. 420), with lampas weave decoration in the shape of a cross, housed in the Museum of the Basilica of St. Maria Maggiore, Rome.

Yesterday afternoon, Gillian and I, just arrived in Rome, went to see the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. This time we had the chance to see the beautiful thirteenth century mosaics in the loggia above the entrance, and Bernini's floating, spiral staircase. What an extraordinary construction! Most interesting, from our point of view, was the Museum, which we had never had the chance to visit during our previous trips to Rome. It is located underneath the basilica, and you actually have to go outside to go down into the entrance hallway. What a magnificent collection of items, including some stunningly beautiful ecclesiastical vestments. But also a simple garment ascribed to St Jerome (who died in AD 420), the man who allegedly translated the Bible into Latin (the Vulgata text). He also happens to be buried in the same church. It is a simple linen vestment, but decorated with a cross applied to the chest and made of two small bands of very expensive (certainly in the fifth century) silk lampas weave. We also saw a reliquary with textiles and presumably remains attributed to Thomas Beckett (assassinated in Canterbury in 1170). And then the many chasubles, copes, stolas, etc., many of them exquisitely decorated with gold thread embroidery. These ranged in date from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. There was even a pontifical outfit dating to the nineteenth century.

We bought a little booklet with the title Guide to the Museum of the Patriarchal Basilica of St. Mary Major, written by Monsignor Michal Jagosz (2003).

Gillian and Willem Vogelsang, 25 December 2016