Blog

Last week Julie Kuperus kindly gave the TRC Leiden various pieces of a large length of cloth that were stitched and pinned together (TRC 2021.2225). She bought the cloth in about 1978 in the Cross River State in southern Nigeria.

Detail of a shrine cloth from southern Nigeria, c. 1978 (TRC 2021.2225).

The TRC Collection includes textile and sewing tools and equipment such as needles, pins and pin cushions (see a previous blog), as well as scissors and shears. In addition we have a small collection of thimbles of various types, literally from minute silver forms to leather and metal palm versions used by sail makers.

Kaga yubinuki, Japan, c. 2020 (TRC 2021.1770a).Not long ago we were given some beautiful and unusual thimbles, namely silk wrapped forms from Japan (TRC 2021.1769a, TRC 2021.1770a, TRC 2021.1771a, TRC 2021.1772a, TRC 2021.1773a). These are called Kaga yubinuki and are related to kagari temari, the well-known Japanese wrapped balls, of which the TRC has several in its collection (TRC 2021.1262, TRC 2021.1263, TRC 2021.1264, TRC 2021.1265, TRC 2021. 1266).

Detail of 1980s leather and painted cushion cover from Mali (TRC 2021.2115).A few weeks ago I was muttering that at the TRC we did not have a good, representative collection of African textiles and dress, but within days we were offered various African items from several different sources! They range from a Nigerian ‘house of the dead’ (an appliqué panel), to a small container from the San people in southern Africa.

Many of these objects were donated by the family of Willem and Grace Bakker, who travelled widely in Africa, the Middle East (especially Egypt), Central Asia (including Afghanistan) and Asia (notably Indonesia).

Embroidered panel from Rwanda, ca. 2018 (TRC 2021.2052).The last two weeks have been a very busy and slightly surreal time at the TRC, as we have re-opened to the public! More and more visitors are coming to see the Buteh to Paisley exhibition, workshops and guided tours are taking place, as well as the 5-day intensive textile course, with participants from France, the Netherlands as well as Sweden - Lena’s trip from Scandinavia was literally organised within a few days, after the rules were changed and it became clear she could come. The intensive textile course will be run again in August, October and November of this year, as well as four times in 2022. The August and October courses are already quickly filling up.

Boxes of textiles, garments and accessories have been arriving from around the globe, including an amazing donation of Japanese garments dating from the 1920’s to the 1970’s by the Noda family. These include garments for festive occasions for boys and girls, wedding items, as well as woollen kimonos, which I had never seen before. Some of these garments will be included in a planned TRC mini-exhibition about Japanese garments, while others will be in the forthcoming TRC exhibition about the history of ikat. We have also had a box of Guatemalan items sent by Charles and Carolyn Knobler in Los Angeles, who have been supporting the TRC by helping us to build up our Central and South American holdings.

Full-length women's dress (thobe) from Bethlehem, Palestine (TRC 2005.0143).If I had any doubts about how dress embodies identity, reading Wafa Ghnaim’s Tatreez & Tea: Embroidery and Storytelling in the Palestinian Diaspora (2018) would quickly dispel them. This book is both a history of traditional Palestinian embroidery (tatreez) and a family history.

In it, Ghnaim tells her own history as a Palestinian-American, formed largely by learning to embroider from her mother, beginning when she was two years old. It is a fascinating guidebook to the history and meaning behind dozens of traditional, primarily cross stitched patterns, accompanied by full colour photographs of thobes (women’s dresses) and over twenty pattern charts. And yes, there are recipes for different spiced teas and for quince preserves.

The TRC has a beautiful collection of over one hundred Palestinian textiles and accessories. It ranges from shawls, caps, and jackets to face veils and a kohl bag, and includes spindles and thread personally collected in the 1920s by the pioneering textile archaeologist Grace Crowfoot. There are over two dozen thobes (the long dress with sleeves traditionally worn by women) in the collection. The oldest thobe dates to the 1920s and comes from Hebron.

The depot at the TRC in Leiden, with some 35,000 textiles and accessories from all over the world. Photograph: Quiltersgilde.I am sometimes asked what is my favourite item in the TRC Collection. How I hate that question as we have over 35,000 pieces! There are so many items I like for visual or technical reasons, or sometimes for the stories and emotions behind the object (literally). And yet, and yet, there are some pieces that immediatley come to mind. 

But I would like to turn the question around - what is your favourite piece in the TRC Collection and why?

Have a look at the TRC Collection, send us an email (Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.) with the reference "My favourite item", telling us the TRC accession number and adding briefly (max. 200 words) why you like the object so much. Please  add your name and where you come from.

We will publish your contributions over the next few weeks.

A few weeks ago Gillian and I visited the former island of Schokland, in the middle of what is now the Noordoostpolder, but until 1932 an island in the Zuiderzee, some 4 km long and 100-400 m wide. It is a weird and intriguing place, rising up a few metres above the completely flat, surrounding lands that used to be the bottom of the sea. A church, a few houses and a visitors’ centre crown the highest point of the island.

Oil painting of Schokland, by Hermanus Koekkoek (1815-1882). Public domain.

Schokland was a fairly prosperous island in the 17th and 18th centuries, with some agriculture, a fishing industry and provisions for ships from all around the Zuiderzee that anchored along its shores. By the late 18th century, there were some 600 people living on the island, in three higher areas connected by narrow sand ridges.

The island of Schokland and its church from the east.However, by the early 19th century agriculture had virtually disappeared because of the surrounding lands being flooded by the sea, the fishing industry was in decline, and other means of making a living were slowly disappearing. The flood of 1825 was particularly damaging to the island. The people of Schokland were some of the poorest in the Netherlands, and national fundraising was organised to financially support them.

Extremely cold winters and storms sealed the fate of the island’s habitation, and by 1859 all of its people were evacuated, leaving the island virtually deserted until included in the Noordoostpolder. In 1995 the former island was declared to be a UNESCO World Heritage site.

In the local shop on the island we found a little booklet published in 2007 by Pieter Korver, De calicotsweverij van Schokland 1839-1858 (ISBN 90-72380-92-0). It tells the story of a partly commercial, partly governmental initiative in the first half of the 19th century to provide a living for the people on Schokland by introducing small-scale textile production. A detail in the history of textiles that is virtually forgotten nowadays, even in the Netherlands.

Regional dress of Schokland. Engraving published in 1857. Public domain.By the early 19th century, the British textile industry had virtually taken over the export of cotton cloth (calico: unbleached, plain weave cotton cloth named after the city of Kozhikode in southwestern India) to the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia). To counter this development, the Dutch started their own cotton weaving industry in the Netherlands. They did so in areas with high unemployment where weavers could work from home.

However, the ‘weavers’ first had to learn to weave, especially with the flying shuttle, which had been in use in Britain for quite some time after its introduction in 1733. Weaving schools were set up, where men, women and children were taught how to weave with the new looms, and afterwards they were engaged in the cottage industry. The company provided the looms and yarns (mainly from England) and they paid for the textiles that had been woven.

This initiative was also introduced on the island of Schokland. Two weaving schools were financed and established by the government on two of the habitation centres of the island, looms were installed, and mainly young people, boys and girls, were taught to weave the calicot fabric. As with other weaving schools in the Netherlands, the weaving schools on Schokland soon became weaving centres, subsidised by the government, where the weavers could work; this was often much easier and efficient than working from home.

The church of Schokland and the (restored) sea ddefences. Photograph Willem Vogelsang, May 2021.The calico weaving on the island only lasted for some twenty years. The two buildings used for the weaving regularly had to be repaired, sometimes because of the bad weather, but also because of the continuous movements of the looms causing vibrations that shook the buildings.

Furthermore, in the winter the provision of yarns and other goods often came to a halt and weaving had to be stopped. In addition, the price of the finished products was continuously reduced because of the fierce competition on the world market.

In the end, the cottage industry simply could not compete with the industrialized production elsewhere. In 1852, the first steam-driven weaving workshop in the Netherlands was established that further diminished the economic viability of hand woven cloth.

As a result, in 1858, the Dutch government decided that there was no future for the people on the island, and orders were given for everyone, more than 600 inhabitants, to leave. Many went to the city of Kampen on the mainland, where a separate neighbourhood was built for them; others moved to different places along the Zuiderzee. After their departure from Schokland, most of the houses and other buildings on the island were removed and/or taken down. Only one of the original churches remained.

Willem Vogelsang, 30 June 2021.

Small bag with woven designs from Peru, c. 2020 (TRC 2021.2073).While looking around the historic city of Maaseik in northeastern Belgium last week prior to going to see the Anglo-Saxon embroideries in the Sint Catharina church (see blog), Willem and I met Seppe Bleukx and his Peruvian wife, Venessa. They had set up a small stall selling Peruvian textiles inside a florist shop cum café. They have been helping a group of weavers in Peru who are badly affected by the lack of customers, local and tourists, in Peru.

Small bag with woven designs from Peru, c. 2020 (TRC 2021.2071).So the Family Bleukx are selling a range of bags and textiles made by the weavers in pop-up stalls in various parts of Belgium. We have bought three small bags for the TRC Collection (TRC 2021.2071, TRC 2021.2072 and TRC 2021.2073) and we are now wondering if we can help them by stocking the bags in the TRC Shop.

This is the story of VeinteVeinte as told by Seppe Bleukx and his wife Venessa:

VeinteVeinte or 20-20 in Spanish is a number which many people associate with a time of twists and changes. Despite what happened in 2020, VeinteVeinte for us represents a new start. The start of a new relationship between Peru and the world. I moved to Peru many years ago and met there Vanessa, who was born and raised in Cusco, the old Inca capital, and home to Machu Picchu.

Small bag with woven designs from Peru, c. 2020 (TRC 2021.2072).Over time we realised how much interest there is in unique, Peruvian handicrafts and accessories. When my sister Griet came to Peru last year, we felt that we must do something with this geographical and emotional connection and VeinteVeinte was born. Now, several months and lockdowns later, the time is ready for us to present our initiative to a much wider audience.

Basically, VeinteVeinte offers carefully selected handmade Peruvian gifts and goods such as textiles, bracelets, bags, purses, and blankets. We purchase everything directly from the people responsible for making these colourful items and in doing so deliberately cut out middlemen. This allows us, on the one hand, to offer the best prices to the makers and, on the other, to provide our clients with products that are not easily found outside of Peru.

The weaver Hermenegilda from Chinchero, Peru.We work directly with the weavers from the famous weaving town of Chinchero, an ancient Inca town located close to Cusco in South Peru. Hermenegilda is one of the main weavers in the town. She is also the one who ensures that VeinteVeinte offers a quality product, while at the same time making sure that all the benefits go to those that have earned them.

In these difficult times, the weavers of Chinchero have lost one of their main clients: international tourists. Therefore an important part of the VeinteVeinte initiative is to reach to these artisans directly and provide a positive outlook and market despite the lack of physical clients. For more information or collaborations, please contact us at at this web address.

30 June 2021.