Looking at appliqués from Cairo, at the Sunday afternoon talk, 27 March. Photograph: Beverley Bennett.We have just had the second Sunday Textile Talk at the TRC Leiden! These are a series of informal lectures and talks that are planned for the last Sunday of every month and which will be used to take a look at the diversity of world textiles and dress.
The first Textile Talk took place on the 27th February 2022 and was about the history and types of lace caps worn in the Rijnland region of the Netherlands during the 19th and early 20th century. The textile talk today included a Powerpoint presentation and was about a very different subject, namely the appliqué panels made in the Street of the Tent Makers in the Khan al-Khalili, Cairo, Egypt.
Appliqués have been produced in Egypt since at least the time of the famous Egyptian pharaoh, Tutankhamun, who died in c.1323 BC. His tomb had numerous examples of textiles and garments, including items decorated with embroidery and appliqué.
The production of appliqué (direct and inlay forms) became widespread in the medieval Egypt and were even depicted in illustrated manuscripts of the period.
I have long been interested in the appliqués and indeed bought one when I first went to Egypt in 1983. Since then I have been buying them at regular intervals with the aim of getting a wide range of different types and techniques. Many of these pieces were to be seen in the Textile Talk.
The moment was also used to look at the history of this textile form, such as the direct link with the Hajj and the Kiswah, an embroidery that covers the Ka'aba in Mecca (the long attics of the Street were used for assembling the Egyptian Kiswah in the 17th – 19th centuries). The role of enormous panels in decorating the tents used by pilgrims and others on various religious events was highlighted.
Craftsman at work in the Street of the Tentmakers, Cairo (2014). Photograph: author.
Other subjects discussed during the Textile Talk were techniques (direct appliqué, inlay appliqué), materials (cotton, woollen forms), and range of designs. The latter include geometric patterns, inscriptions and calligraphy, and Pharaonic Egyptian patterns (very attractive to tourists!). Some of the latter, for example, were directly copied from ancient tomb paintings, while others were inspired by statues and paintings, such as a series of panels with birds, fish, etc. Another group of panels that belong to the historic genre have street scenes based on 19th and early 20th century prints and photographs.
Throughout the talk examples from the TRC’s extensive collection of panels were used in the PowerPoint and the actual examples were presented so that members of the audience could examine, take photographs and discuss in an informal manner.
Appliqué from the Street of the Tentmakers in Cairo, being shown at the Sunday afternoon talk of 27 March.TRC exhibition about the Street and appliqué panels
In 2015 the TRC mounted an exhibition about the appliqués both at the TRC and in the Netherlands-Flemish Institute, Cairo, Egypt. In 2018 an online version of this exhibition was published. The TRC exhibition includes a range of appliqués, materials, photographs, and over forty panels in a wide range of sizes, colours and patterns. This exhibition is also available for loan for display purposes to suitable museums and institutes.
Next TRC Sunday Afternoon Lecture: 24 April
The TRC recently accepted two large donations of textiles and clothing, which come from eastern Europe (especially various groups living in Albania, Hungary and Romania), as well as many other places around the globe. They were collected by experts in Paris and in Arizona, and were recently transported to the TRC. Are you puzzled how the items are processed, catalogued, photographed, and stored?
The Sunday Textile Talk on the 24th April will include brief introductions to the donations themselves, and to the various stages in processing the more than 1500 textiles. Some of the volunteers doing the actual work will tell about their activities. They will discuss the various stages, in both theory and practice, including presenting the solutions to the various challenges encountered and the concept of Citizen Culture, whereby large groups of volunteers work together in understanding and processing textiles from far-away, and especially in exploring the stories behind the objects! There will also be the chance to discuss what we are going to do with the items, with respect to publications, actual and online exhibitions, and detailed studies of individual items.
Gillian Vogelsang, 27 March 2022
