(Augusta de Gunzbourg, TRC curator and education manager, 24 September 2026). The TRC was invited recently to attend "Atlas Bayrami", the 7th International Traditional Textile Festival, held in Margilan in the Fergana Valley, in the east of Uzbekistan. I attended the festival as TRC's representative. The festival celebrates the country's textile traditions, and in particular the traditional silk ikats of this region. This extraordinary invitation was a chance to represent the TRC at an international conference and to better understand a textile history that is still very much alive in the valley and across the country.

Uzbekistan is known for many crafts, such as ceramics, carpet making and embroidery, but Margilan shines with its tradition of ikat making. A conference in which I participated during the festival explored textile traditions, and also how textile heritage and craftsmanship could be better preserved, both locally and internationally. The event was backed by many local institutions as well as the European Union and UNESCO.

After 24 hours of travel, six of them by train to the rather remote Fergana Valley, our group of international visitors working in culture and textile heritage took part in conferences, textile fairs and all sorts of textile-related events. We also visited many workshops that carry on the long tradition of ikat making, or atlas as it is called locally.

Standing in those workshops, it was hard not to feel the weight of this textile-making tradition. The city of Margilan has been known for its silk since around the 10th century, when it was an important stop on the Silk Road. Local craftsmen are said to have learned silk-making from China and refined it until Margilan silks became prized goods along the route. Ikat has been made here for centuries: cocoons boiled and made into silk threads that are bound and resist-dyed before they are woven to create the distinctive blurred patterns of the cloth.

Some of the master-makers come from generations of craftspeople, and many of the old techniques are still in use, including dyes made from plants and flowers (pomegranate skins, walnut husks or acacia flowers), although chemical dyes are also used. We were told that natural dyes have been gradually reintroduced over the past 15 or 20 years, after chemical dyes had taken over the field. Some artisans, for example, sought help from master dyers in countries such as Iran, where the tradition had survived, to revive the old know-how of these dye plants.

We also learned to distinguish atlas, pure silk ikat, from adras, a silk-cotton blend. The most prized pieces are still woven by hand on traditional looms, but more industrially produced versions are also on sale at tourist sites. Interestingly, a special form of ikat velvet is also part of the local tradition, with its threads bound, dyed and woven using the same tools, vats and looms as atlas and adras.

This velvet is known locally as bakhmal. After the threads have been dyed, extra threads are woven over metal rods to form a raised pile, which is then cut with a sharp blade. Bakhmal can be made of silk or of a silk-cotton blend. The result is a rich, textured cloth with patterns sometimes similar to those of atlas, although a little less blurred. Velvet ikat was long reserved for the elite, prized for its rarity and the skill it required. Today it is still made by hand, alongside cheaper machine-made versions, and is used for all sorts of objects, such as decorative hanging panels and cushions.

We were able to follow the whole process of making atlas, adras and bakhmal: reeling the silk from the cocoons, binding and dyeing the threads, weaving, and finally selling the finished fabrics. Although these textiles are a big part of the local tourist trade, atlas and bakhmal are still very much part of local life. We saw them in many people's festive dress, from high-end silk versions to simple printed fabrics imitating the colourful woven originals.

"The TRC and the Stichting Güney are proud to present …. " This may sound like a cliché but in this case it is totally true. We were and are proud of the 'Sacred Textiles from Mecca and Medina' mini-exhibition, which was opened last Sunday, 20th September, in the presence of the Turkish ambassador designate, Dr. Burak Akçapar.

We have all been working hard for the last few weeks, writing text boards, organising lists of objects, translating texts into Dutch, and checking proposed programmes for this special event. Augusta de Gunzbourg, our curator, did the design layout before she went to a textile conference in Uzbekistan (a blog will shortly be published about her trip).

One of the reasons behind the mini-exhibition was to raise funds to process and store a very large Ottoman and regional Turkish collection that recently has been donated to the TRC (see previous blogs). The Turkish community here in Leiden are taking a very active part in the project and plans are being developed for exhibitions, workshops, lectures, perhaps even fashion shows!

Fig. 1. Quilt with an appliqué version of a ‘Flower and Berries’ design (1850’s – 1860’s; USA). TRC 2019.2402.Last weekend the TRC was open to the public as part of the national Open Monumenten Dagen (OMD). We welcomed over 300 visitors who were shown around the building and enjoyed the various exhibitions.

One of the questions that was asked by an American visitor was: did we have any quilts? What she meant was American-style (bed) quilts. Well, we have a range of quilts, plus a selection of quilt patterns, samples and unfinished blocks. More specifically, we have over 100 American quilts in our collection that date from the 1840s to the present day and represent many different forms.

Fig. 2. Dresden Plate quilt (1930s, USA). TRC 2018.2629.The TRC houses one of the few public collections of American quilts in this part of Europe, and the blankets are included in the American Quilt Index. Some years ago, to mark this point, the TRC mounted an exhibition about American quilts. We opened the exhibition in February 2020, but alas, very few people could come and see it due to the Covid Crisis.

The TRC collection includes a wide range of forms of American quilts (Figs. 1-3), from practical, Amish items to more decorative, elaborate examples, but we are far from being able to offer a complete picture. We are still looking for early 19th century examples, and a few specific types, such as Baltimore Album quilts, Mormon (LDS) quilts, and modern Art quilts.

We have just had the second Open Monumenten Dagen (OMD) day (Sunday, 13 September), which was from 10.00 until 17.00 and we are all very, very tired! I am glad that the OMD is only once a year, but it is well worth it for getting people interested in what the TRC is doing and why.

Yesterday we had 111 visitors and today 214 people came to see Boerhaavelaan 6 (B6), giving a total of 325 over the weekend. Again there were people who live on the street or nearby, who were simply curious about the building and the family who had lived there for over 100 years. Many people came for the architectural history of the building, while others came for the textiles and to see what the TRC is and is doing.

There were five TRC volunteers present and we all had a chance to talk with visitors, answer questions, and help with the shop, so plenty of opportunities to tell everyone about what we are doing and why. In addition we were able to talk with teachers from here in Leiden, people from Leiden Council, as well as others working with local commercial groups. In other words, a great opportunity for people to see the TRC in action and its potential as a local and international centre for textile and dress studies.

Boerhaavelaan 6(Gillian Vogelsang, 12 September) We have finished our first day of the Open Monument Weekend (Open Monumentendagen), which is a national event where people can come and look at various forms of monumental buildings, from factories to cathedrals, via churches and castles. Not to mention, public and private buildings of various types and ages.

The TRC was opened last year and we agreed to be open again this year, as it is a great way for people to see the building (Boerhaavelaan 6) and to learn about the TRC and what we are doing. Today we were open from 12.00 until 17.00 and we had over 100 visitors. The first, actually came at 10.30 as the banner was in situ and the door open!

There was a constant flow of visitors from 11.30 onwards. Most people came to see the building, for example, there were some who had lived on or near the Boerhaavelaan and simply wanted to see what the house looked like on the inside. Others were interested in the architect, Jesse, who was involved in building both the house and its extension.

But there was an equal number who had heard about the TRC via the local newspapers, online (especially LinkedIn), etc., and wanted to learn more about what we are doing and why. The shop was open and many items sold to visitors, another way of helping to support the TRC! Various people took the new TRC brochure with the promise to make a donation. There were also a number of people who are now seriously thinking about becoming a volunteer and helping with the day-to-day running of the TRC.

Fig. 1. Card with 6x six black press studs. There is a printed text that states: "PRYM'S AVENIR WERELDMERK DRUKKNOOP", Germany, produced for the Dutch market, early 20th century (TRC 2026.2008).(Gillian Vogelsang, 9 Sept. 2026) Over the years I have become intrigued with some ‘strange’ items in the TRC collection, but I never expected to become interested in that everyday item, the press stud! Perhaps I was drawn to this subject when I realised that, in 2021, I wrote a blog about medieval hooks and eyes now in the TRC Colleciton.

But back to the press studs. I am currently cataloguing various forms of fastenings, not only the press studs, but also hooks and eyes, and buttons, that were given to the TRC by Hennie Stevan-Bathoorn and Sjoerd Stevan of the former Museum voor Naaldkunst, Winschoten, here in the Netherlands.

Press studs are often used instead of buttons to fasten various items, including soft furnishings, as well as a wide range of garments from underwear, to blouses, aprons, trousers, coats and skirts, headwear, gloves and footwear (Fig. 1). They are a hidden form of fastening, and easy to use. There are different grades of press studs, from those suitable for a child to military grade forms used for parachute harnesses, etc. Press studs are also sometimes used to decorate items. In the TRC Collection, for example, there is a child’s embroidered cap from Pakistan that is embellished with buttons, coins and press studs (compare TRC 2026.1897).

The donation includes a folder with various cards of press studs that were produced by different manufacturers. I have never really looked in detail at these small, but useful items before, but I started to wonder about the history of these items as well as looking again at the press studs in the collection, and at a range of garments that are fastened with such studs.

Well, to start with, the press studs (UK) have different names in the (English-speaking) world. In the US, for example, they are called snap fasteners, snaps, or snap buttons. Elsewhere they are sometimes called poppers, tich buttons or dome fasteners.

Poster for the Andy Warhol exhibition, now extended until 8 November. Museum Cobra, Sandbergplein 1, Amstelveen.Until Sunday, 8 November 2026, Museum Cobra in Amstelveen in The Netherlands presents an exhibition with the title 'Andy Warhol, The Textiles'. TRC friend and volunteer, Loren Mealey, went to see the exhibition in Amstelveen and she wrote the following blog:

When we think of Andy Warhol, we think of Campbell’s Soup Cans, Coca-Cola bottles, Marilyn Monroe and the bright, bold world of Pop Art. Before all of that, though, Warhol was illustrating something quite different: textiles.

Left: “Happy Butterfly Day”. Printed silk, circa 1955-56. Manufacturer unknown; Right: “Large Butterflies”. Printed cotton, circa 1955-56. D. B. Fuller & Co., Inc.In the 1950s and early 1960s, long before he became one of the most recognisable artists of the twentieth century, Warhol was a successful commercial illustrator and graphic designer in New York City. He created playful textile patterns filled with ice-cream cones, candy apples, lemons, butterflies, flowers, pretzels, shoes, buttons and even circus clowns. They are cheerful, whimsical and unmistakably of their time. If observed closely, you can already see the beginnings of the Warhol we know today.

What is particularly appealing about these designs is their colourful combination of simplicity and repetition. Warhol took an ordinary object, reduced it to its essential shape, and then repeated it across the fabric. The same butterfly might appear again and again, but each one will show a tiny difference. A line shifts. A shape changes slightly. A colour lands differently.

Then there is the line. Warhol had developed his distinctive “blotted line” technique while still a student and refined it during his years as a commercial illustrator. The process was quite simple. He traced an image in ink on a non-absorbent sheet and then pressed it against another sheet of paper, transferring the ink. The result was a broken, slightly uneven line: part drawing, part print.

On 31 August, the TRC opened its doors for a new exhibition: Paisley: The History of a Global Icon (by the curator, Augusta de Gunzbourg)

The new Paisley exhibition at the TRC. Photograph by the curator, Augusta de Gunzbourg.We all know the motif, that cone shape that is curved at the top, which is found on Kashmir shawls, men’s ties, 1970’s hippie prints, or even on cowboy bandanas. Paisley is everywhere !

It is so well-known that it is generally accepted as just being one of those patterns that have always been there, but we rarely think think about its origins and why it is so popular all over the world.

The TRC exhibition is a re-edited, expanded version of one of its past, and online exhibitions (interrupted by the COVID-pandemic) about the famous Paisley motif, and this time mounted in the TRC's new premises along the Boerhaavelaan (No.6) in Leiden.

The exhibition explores the history of the Paisley motif, its ancient origins and its development to the present day. It also looks at how it is currently used for a wide variety of textiles and garments all over the globe.