Boxes with part of the Turkish collection, brought in from Belgium on 8th June, ready to be catalogued and photographed from Monday 9th. Photograph by author.“Things happen at the TRC” is how someone recently described us, and I cannot disagree. Sometimes ‘things’ are expected, sometimes not at all, and an example of unexpected ‘things’ just occurred a few days ago.
Last week we got an email from a friend who referred to the Kavak Costume Collection, asking what we knew about it. The answer was simple: nothing at all. It turns out to be a private collection based in Belgium. When I checked their website I was surprised by the range of Anatolian/Turkish outfits and garments for men and women, as well as items from Armenia, Syria, Yemen, Uzbekistan, India, etc.
The collection includes individual garments, outfits, jewellery, footwear such as hand knitted socks and shoes, as well as hair ornaments. The objects range in date from the late 19th century to about 2000 and show how materials, colours, textures, as well as tastes have changed and developed over the decades.
Late Ottoman silk and metal thread embroidery on a woman's sash, just removed from one of the boxes. Photograph by the author.We estimate there are about 500 individual items in total. Not only that, but the site included useful details about the origins of the garments, when they would have been worn, etc.
Oh yes, don’t forget the books. Not only that, but there are also computer files with background information and photographs.
So I sent an email to the management of the collection, explaining that the TRC is an international centre for textiles and dress studies with a worldwide collection of garments and would it be possible for us to work together in some manner?
Within a day there was a reply from Jean-Marie Criel, the owner of the collection. He told me that he and his partner were now getting elderly and were looking for a good home for their collection. Would the TRC like it as a donation? If yes, when could we come and pick things up?
Two TRC interns processing the recently acquired Turkish textiles. Photograph by the author.So on Monday (2nd June) I told my colleagues at the TRC about the offer, we looked at each other and then everyone said yes! This was a unique and intriguing chance. So within a few days we had made calculations about storage and housing - we would require 60 special storage boxes of various sizes, more acid-free paper, and metal racks for the depot. Not to mention the hire of a van to pick up the collection.
We contacted the Stichting Guney, a Turkish community group here in Leiden, about the proposed donation. They organised and presented events at the TRC in the past and we are currently working together on an oya (a form of Turkish lace) workshop for the autumn.
The current aim is to include their help with processing the items and acquiring more background information. We also let Leiden Council know about the donation, to discuss how we can work together on this collection in furthering the concept of “Leiden: City of Textile Knowledge”.
A TRC intern photographing one of the Turkish objects recently acquired. Photograph by the author.We ordered extra storage racks which arrived within a few days and they were put up by the volunteers and interns last Thursday. In the meantime we also emptied one of the deep freezers, so we could put the Turkish collection straight into it for a week at -35 degrees (this procedure is directed against insects, especially moths). We picked up the first 50 boxes on Sunday (8th June) and brought them straight to the TRC.
Today, Monday (9th June) is officially a public holiday in the Netherlands, but some of the volunteers and interns have offered to come in and create a form of ‘conveyer belt’ for tagging, numbering, registering and photographing the items.
We estimate that it will take three weeks to process everything. All being well, “things” will begin to appear online within a week (under the name of the Jean-Marie Criel donation).
More blogs about what is happening and highlights of the collection will appear over the next few weeks. We are already thinking about an exhibition based on this collection!
Please help with a financial donation
We need 4,000 euros to cover the costs for the racks, boxes, paper, hire of a van, etc. If you would like to contribute to the Turkish costume fund, then please use the TRC bank account number: NL39 INGB 0002 9823 59 (Stichting Textile Research Centre, Leiden), or use the iDeal button (for Dutch donors).
You can also make a donation over via Myriad USA (for American donors), or simply contact me at Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken. for other possibilities. Interesting days ahead!
