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The Textile Research Centre proudly presents our first exhibition in the new building: Khayamiya: Egyptian appliqués from the Street of Tentmakers.

Khayamiya is a textile that is omnipresent in Egypt. The word itself is derived from the Arabic word for tent, namely khayma. Originally, this appliqué technique was mostly used for making hand-sewn tents. Nowadays, khayamiya can also be created using other techniques, such as machine-sewing or (digital) printing. In addition to, for example, tents in (religious) contexts such as weddings and funerals, khayamiya can be used in various shapes and variations. Especially before and during Ramadan, khayamiya tents and decorations are ubiquitous in the Egyptian streets.

Khayamiya, including all the techniques, is an understudied subject often framed as a traditional textile from an (art) historical approach that leaves out the lived experience. Moreover, khayamiya is embedded in an Islamic culture, since Egypt has a Muslim majority. Therefore, it fits in the Muslim world, but it is not addressed as an Islamic or a religious artefact. Khayamiya is used as an atmosphere maker that can create an Islamic setting, but can also be used by other (non-)religious groups. Since khayamiya is not seen as sacred itself, it can be used for many purposes, such as heritage in a museum or as an art project.

This exhibition is co-curated by Christina de Korte. Her interdisciplinary approach used in her research touches upon three sets of themes, namely material culture and Islam, popular culture and piety, and living heritage. By following the routes of various types of khayamiya through Cairo’s streets—focused on the contemporary usages before and during Ramadan—and taking courses in the Street of the Tentmakers, Christina de Korte analyzes in which ways khayamiya is part of an Islamic world.

Christina de Korte is a visual artist and textile researcher. She learned how to make khayamiya in the Street of the Tentmakers in Cairo whilst doing her research on the technique and the contemporary khayamiya usages before and during Ramadan. Christina recently graduated from the research master’s program in Religious Studies at Utrecht University and holds bachelor’s degrees in Fine Art from the HKU University of Arts Utrecht and Language and Culture Studies from Utrecht University.

Programme:

• 15.30: Doors open.
• 16.00: Welcoming words from Dr. Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood.
• 16.15: Christina de Korte, co-curator, elaborates on her experience learning Khayamiya in Cairo.
• 16.45: Opening of the exhibition by H.E. Mr. Emad Magdy Hanna Kamel
• 17.00: Refreshments.
• 18.00: End of the event.

This event takes place at the Boerhaavelaan 6.

Please register through: Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.

A TRC volunteer standing next to the Jordanian Thob 'Ubb, the largest dress in the world, on display in the TRC Gallery.A New Exhibition in the TRC Gallery
30 August 2010 until 20 October 2010

Dress is about what people wear to say who they are, what they are doing and why. The latest TRC exhibition, Three Takes on Dress, presents three totally different snapshots about dress from India (badla embroidery), Jordan (the huge Thob 'Ubb) and Turkey (circumcision dress). Three Takes on Dress has been made by various staff members and students from Leiden University. For more information, click her.

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Kort geleden ontving het Textile Research Centre Leiden (TRC) een heel bijzondere donatie voor de kledingverzameling. Het betreft een miniatuur (!) driehoekige steek (hoed), oftewel een tricorne. De hoed dateert uit 1796. Wij weten dat zo zeker omdat bij de hoed de originele verklaring was gevoegd dat de hoed gemaakt werd onder toezicht van het bestuur van het Hoedenmakersgilde in Leiden, als proefstuk van de leerling Hendrik Visser. Het certificaat is gedateerd op 27 december 1796. De hoed en het document zijn altijd bij de familie Visser bewaard gebleven en nu terug naar Leiden gebracht. Het is uniek dat deze stukken bij elkaar zijn gebleven en zullen blijven.

Het TRC heeft een plan opgesteld voor de conservering van hoed en document. Daarnaast maakt het TRC een boekje over het hele verhaal van hoed, conservering, familie en geschiedenis en tenslotte een tentoonstelling.

CONSERVERING
De hoed is gemaakt van leer. Door uitdroging zijn enkele scheurtjes ontstaan. Een restauratrice van het Rijksmuseum te Amsterdam heeft de hoed bekeken en een voorstel gemaakt voor conservering en een methode voor het goed opbergen van de hoed. Het papieren document is inmiddels door Restorient (www.restorient.com) geconserveerd. Deze papierconservators raakten, net als het TRC, gefascineerd door de hoed en zijn geschiedenis. Bij de conservering werd het watermerk gevonden van Stolk en Reese, een Rotterdams papierbedrijf dat nog steeds bestaat. Dit conserveringswerk werd als donatie aan het TRC aangeboden.

PUBLICATIE
Als voorlopige onderwerpen voor een publicatie zijn genoemd:

• De geschiedenis van de hoed, de vorm in de historische context, de maker, de schenker.
• Het Hoedenmakersgilde in Leiden, het gildesysteem in het algemeen
• Familie Visser als hoedenmakers, hun relatie met stadsbestuur en het Heilige Geest of Arme Weeshuis.
• Verantwoording conservering.

Veel onderzoek is nodig, o.a. in de archieven van het Regionaal Archief Leiden. Het TRC gaat ervan uit dat in 2011 een publicatie (uitgever Primavera Pers, Leiden) en tentoonstelling mogelijk zal zijn.


BEGROTING

Conservering:
Hoed + speciale opbergdoos € 900,-
Documenten + opbergdoos € 250,-

Publicatie:
Onderzoek € 750,-
Beeldmateriaal, copyright enz. € 300,-
Drukwerk, 500 ex in Nederlands € 2.500,-

Totaal € 4.700,- (inc. btw)


Donaties voor het conserveringswerk en de publicatie van De Leidse Hoed zijn zeer welkom op rekening 2982359 van het TRC onder vermelding van "Leidse Hoed". Het TRC heeft de ANBI status, zodat uw donaties aftrekbaar zijn voor de belastingen.

A recent donation to the TRC proved to be very unusual. It is a miniature tricorned hat made by an apprentice for his journeyman's certificate, signed and dated 27th September, 1796, in Leiden. Both hat and certificate are currently being restored and researched by the TRC and various other interested parties and sponsors. A special fund raising programme has been set up to pay for the costs of conservation, for research, and for the publication of the results. For a Dutch language description of the programme, click here.

Kosay from Uruzgan, South Afghanistan. TRC collection.In February 2010, Dr Willem Vogelsang acquired for the TRC a typical garment that is worn by the Kuchis (nomads) from southern Afghanistan. It is a so-called Kosay, which is a coat with long, empty sleeves. This Kosay was specially made and subsequently embroidered by Kuchi nomads at the request of Khalifa Sadaat Babozai, the district chief of Dehrawud, in southwestern Uruzgan, who then gave the coat as a present to Willem Vogelsang. The Kosay is rarely seen these days in Afghanistan, but in Uruzgan it is still rather popular. In the spring of 2009, a similar coat was worn by an old man who wandered in at a village meeting, also in Dehrawud (see photograph). The Kosay was far more widely worn in the nineteenth century, since it is discussed and illustrated by Mountstuart Elphinstone in his "An Account of the Kingdom of Afghaunistaun...", published in 1815.

 Old man wearing Kosay, Uruzgan, South Afghanistan

Embroidery from the Arab World, by Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood

NEW: published by Primavera Pers, Leiden, in cooperation with the TRC

The Arab world is famous for its calligraphy, miniatures, woodwork, ceramics and silver. However, so far little has been said about another important aspect of Arab culture: the art of embroidery. For centuries, embroidered cloth has been used to decorate private houses and public buildings and to dress men, women and children. Embroidery played an important part in both social and cultural lives of people and reflected economic and political change. This is the first time that a book has been dedicated to the various types of embroidery from the Arab world. The book presents numerous examples of embroidery from Arab countries and shows some of the various ways in which techniques, colours and motifs were and still are used to embellish textiles. It will be a source of knowledge and inspiration for anyone with an interest in textiles and dress and for those who are curious about a relatively unknown aspect of Arabic art.

128 pag., 22 x 26 cm (pb), 134 ill. in full colour
ISBN 978-90-5997-089-2
EUR 27.50

The book was written by Dr. Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood, director of the TRC. The book is for sale from the TRC. For postage within The Netherlands, please transfer the sum of EUR 31 (including packaging and postage) to ING bank account 2982359, "TRC Leiden", with reference to "Embroidery". Do not forget to give your address! For postage outside of Holland, please email the TRC: Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken. for costs of shipment.

From September to December 2010, the TRC again organises a large number of activities, including lectures and workshops, about Arab embroidery, Japanese kimonos, Indian saris, and many other subjects. For a full list, please consult the Activities page.

Detail of sari decorated using batik. TRC Collection. Photograph by Joost Kolkman.The Textile Research Centre, together with the National Museum of Ethnology, organises an exhibition on the Indian sari. The exhibition will be on display at the National Museum of Ethnology, Steenstraat 1, Leiden, from 21 March to and including 17 October 2010.

The sari is a long piece of cloth that is wrapped around the body. The various materials, the decoration and the way in which the garment is worn reflect the many different parts of the Indian subcontinent, the various ethnic groups, age and caste differences, and so forth. The exhibition includes tens of beautiful examples of this gracious garment and it thus illustrates its long history and diversity.  

A large exhibition on the subject of saris, emphasising the techniques of producing and decorating the garment, is currently for hire by other museums or suitable institutes. Click here.

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