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A 'Feestrok' from The Netherlands, celebrating liberation from Nazi-Germany, late 1940's (TRC 2011.0001a).The June 2018 issue of the British magazine 'Selvedge' contains an article by Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood, director TRC, about the so-called 'feestrok'. These were patchwork skirts made in The Netherlands after World War II to celebrate the liberation of the country.

Embroidered coat of the parliamentary uniform of Laurens de Groot (TRC 2018.2133a).A few weeks ago the TRC received a donation of a group of items belonging to Mariet Portheine-ter Kuile. This donation included fifty Berlin wool work charts that formed the basis for a digital exhibition on this subject [click here].

Since then various other items belonging to the Portheine-ter Kuile family have been given to the TRC, including a gala uniform associated with the Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal (commonly known as the Tweede Kamer), the Dutch equivalent of the British House of Commons.

The uniform consists of a gold embroidered coat, matching trousers, a bicorn hat with orange cockade, gloves and, of course, a sword. The uniform belonged to the politician, Frederick (Frits) Portheine (1923-1990), who had been a member of the Tweede Kamer between 1963 and 1981.

This type of uniform was worn by members of the Tweede Kamer in the late 19th and early 20th centuries on all formal occasions. There were various rules concerning how such garments were worn, as well as colour coding. Ministers, for example, had white trousers with a dark blue coat, while members of the Kamer had dark blue trousers and coat. So what is the history of this particular uniform?

Sword, sheath and felt carrier that go with the parliamentary uniform of Laurens de Groot (TRC 2018.2133e-g).The embroidery decorating the coat is similar to that used on formal military and diplomatic uniforms from many countries in northern Europe. It is made using cardboard templates that are covered with various types of metal thread. One of the important accessories for the uniform, which reflects much earlier norms for gentlemen, is the presence of a sword (whether the 20th century wearer knew how to use it was a totally different matter).

Such uniforms were already regarded as old fashioned by the time that Frederick Portheine became a politician. Since the Second World War (1939-1945) these uniforms had not really been worn by most of the members of the Tweede Kamer. So did Frits Portheine ever wear it? Thanks to a tip from Madelief Hohé (Gemeente Museum, The Hague) to literally look deep into one of the inside pockets of the coat, we were able to find a tailor’s label that gave us some more information about the history of the uniform.

Tailor's label of coat (TRC 2018.2133a, above).The uniform had been made by "GEBRS. DOMHOFF, ROTTERDAM. HOFKLEEDERMAKERS VAN Z.K.H. DEN PRINS DER NEDERLANDEN” (The Brothers Domhoff, Rotterdam. Court garment makers to H.R.H. the Prince of the Netherlands). In addition there was further information saying “L. de Groot 4-3-20”, apparently the name of the original owner.

The company of Domhoff Tailors still exists, but it is no longer in Rotterdam, but now based in Haarlem. The sword has an etched label on the blade near the handle, which says "FRANS PAUWELS 's GRAVENHAGEN." The company of Pauwels has been producing swords and related items since the late 18th century. The company ran by Frans Pauwels went bankrupt in 1925, although an Amsterdam branch continued into the 1930’s.

Bicorn hat that belongs to the parliamentary uniform of Laurens de Groot (TRC 2018.2133c).In addition to providing the sword, the bicorn hat associated with the uniform also originated from the company of Frans Pauwels and on the outside of the accompanying hatbox there is the inked name of DE GROOT, so giving a clear link between the two items. In addition, the pair of gloves came in a paper bag, again with the name DE GROOT.

Apparently the first owner of the gala uniform was therefore a gentleman called De Groot. But who was he and why did he need a gala uniform? According to the database of the Dutch Parliament, Laurens de Groot (1874-1963) was a Dutch politician who was involved in various liberal economic policies and in particular involved with the Vrijheidsbond [officially known as the Liberale Staatspartij, the predecessor of the modern Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie, VVD, currently led by Mark Rutte, PM]. He was twice elected a member of the Tweede Kamer, in 1919-1922 and for the second time in 1924-1925. It would appear, from the date of 4th March 1920 writtten on the tailor's label, that the gala uniform was acquired by De Groot during his first period in the Tweede Kamer.

Laurens de Groot, liberal parliamentarian (1874-1963).De Groot was also involved in the city council of Rotterdam and on several occasions he was the wethouder (alderman) responsible for education and social development. Following the liberation of Rotterdam from the Germans in 1945 he became a member of the Raad van Advies for Rotterdam, advising about the rebuilding of the city after the German bombardments in May 1940. De Groot died in 1963. How exactly his gala uniform came into the possession of Frits Portheine is not clear, perhaps they had been friends as both were prominent members of the same political party. On the other hand, it was also common for new members of parliament to buy a second-hand outfit, since these gala uniforms, although rarely worn in the early 1960s, were very expensive.

Gillian Vogelsang, 11 June 2018. With many thanks to Mariet Portheine and her family.

Sources of information:

• https://www.domhoff.nl/about/
• https://www.parlement.com/id/vg09ll19amvd/l_de_groot
• http://www.sabels.net/index.php?Itemid=20 

A late 15th century Italian voided velvet in silk and linen (TRC 2011.0362).Plans are being developed for a TRC exhibition about the history, production, types and forms of that most luxurious of fabrics, namely velvet. This subject was chosen because the TRC Collection includes thirty Renaissance-period examples that date from the 15th-17th centuries. They mostly come from Italy, but there are some French and Spanish pieces as well. In order for visitors to really understand these luxury, court-level items and to see how they originally looked, the planned exhibition will include modern examples of the same quality, with comparative designs.

I have have been talking with the Lunsingh firm in Leiden, who are furniture restorers with many connections in the luxury textile world. They have shown me some hand woven velvets that can cost up to €2000 per metre. Some forms are made of pure silk with gold thread. Not surprisingly this type of velvet has to be specially ordered and is not widely available! Some of the other examples they showed me were used for Parliament in The Hague, another for the Royal Palace in Amsterdam and yet another form was used for the Spanish court. They also have examples of so-called Utrecht velvet, which is  made out of mohair (only €650 per metre). What amazing, gorgeous pieces.

A 16th century Spanish silk velvet with stamped design (TRC 2011.0367)We have estimated that to get some stunning samples of the main types of velvet currently available will cost about €15000. But it would make a fantastic exhibition and show items that most people will have never seen before. The temptation to touch will be enormous!

The TRC is currently looking for an individual, family or company that would be willing to help with this exhibition (they will, of course, be properly acknowledged). We need to find €15000 for the velvets and if a fully illustrated publication about the history of velvet and the many different types is also produced, then this will require a further €7500 euros. Basically we are looking for a total of €22500 (US$ 26500, GB£19500).

Please let me know if you can help with the realisation of this exhibition as soon as possible, as it is going to take at least a year to organise, but it will be well worth it!

Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood, Sunday 10th June 2018

Embroidered rank badge from 19th century China (TRC 2010.0139b).As some of you will know I am working on a history of embroidery from around the world for a Bloomsbury (London-based publishers) series of encyclopaedia. The first volume came out in 2016 and at least five more are coming. Throughout the recent conference in Hangzhou (click here) about handlooms and textiles I have been talking with a lot of people about - embroidery.

On various occasions I was able talk about the TRC’s series of encyclopaedias. I had a wonderful opportunity to talk to curators, historians, collectors and dealers about embroidery and the role of this important textile technique. During the conference, I was also able to spend time with one of the conference speakers and his wife. She is a specialist in Chinese minority embroidery. It is thanks to them I am gaining a knowledge of minority forms by being able to handle recently acquired examples, especially from among the Deng, Miao and Yunnan. More on this subject to come!

I have been able to discuss with Eve Anderson, Director of the Centre for Textile Research, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, for example, about the Encylopedia of Embroidery and she has offered help with the research for the archaeological evidence for embroidery in Scandinavia and in preparing the table of contents for the volume on Scandinavian and West European embroidery (vol. 3 in the series).

I also have had the chance to talk with people living in Laos, Indonesia, as well as China, about the 4th volume in the series and everyone has offered help in some manner. It’s been a fascinating time and it was made very clear just how many different types there are, the range of techniques and designs, and the versatility of the subject with respect to East Asia.

I spent a very enjoyable last day in China looking at archaeological examples of Chinese embroidery that are on display in the National Silk Museum. Basically it is going to be an amazing few years putting the East Asian volume of the Bloomsbury Encyclopeadia together.

Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood, Thursday 7th June 2018.

Zilu loom for taqueté floor coverings, Iran. National Silk Museum, Hangzhou, China. Photograph: Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood.I am just home from a conference about handlooms held at the National Silk Museum in Hangzhou, China, and what a conference it has been! I am so glad that I went. I was there to give a paper on the history of zilu weaving in Iran (and added a piece about taqueté in Egypt for good measure) and to work with the zilu weaver who came especialy from Iran for the conference. In addition, the TRC had donated a large zilu floor covering from Meybod, Iran, which was put on display in the exhibition. It let the visitors see and understand just how large a zilu loom could actually be.

The conference accompanied an exhibition about handlooms from around the world and for the next two months it is possible to see and come very close to a wide variety of forms. I would make a plea at this moment to larger museums interested in textiles to see if they could borrow this exhibition and the looms. It would be well worth it.

What made the whole conference and exhibition so interesting is that the Museum brought over to China a number of professional handloom weavers – to talk about and demonstrate their looms. Suddenly things that I had read about in books and articles or seen in films and photographs made sense. I had several ‘Oh so that is how it works’ moments. And I was not the only one.

Last week we put a blog online about the visit of Magdalena Woźniak to work on the TRC’s Crowfoot Collection and in particular the Sudanese items (click here). To Magdalena’s great pleasure she found a piece of dammur cloth. Magdalena also wrote a blog about this piece of cloth and its social and economic significance (click here).

Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood, director of the TRC, writes about special attention being paid to the Sudanese /Nubian collection at the TRC:

This week we have been very busy with a special section of the TRC Collection. It all started with a visit for four days by Magdalena Woźniak, a Marie Curie Fellow from the Polish Academy of Sciences. She is an archaeologist working on Nubian textiles and dress, from the north of Sudan, Africa (and also someone who came on the TRC 5-day textile course in 2015).

Woman's coat from Jordan, 1920's, made of ikat cloth (TRC 2005.0076).Among the many items belonging to the English textile archaeologist Grace Crowfoot (1879-1957) now in the TRC Collection Leiden, are a few objects relating to the production of tarbit (ikat) in Aleppo, Syria. In particular there is a letter that describes some of the relevant processes in Aleppo in 1939.

Ikat is a general term for a form of resist dyeing technique, in which the warp and/weft threads are coloured prior to the weaving of the cloth. In Syria it is known as tarbit. There has been a trade in the production of tarbit in Aleppo and surrounding regions for hundreds of years.

In order to produce ikat, groups of threads are being tightly bound together in a specific order to create the desired design. By repeatedly binding, dyeing, rebinding, dyeing, and so forth, it is possible to create a range of patterns. Tarbit from Syria often take the form of silk striped cloth and checked cotton forms. Where a silk or artificial silk warp is used together with cotton wefts, then this type of cloth is known as qutni (‘the cotton ones’).