Mrs Keijzer-Sarneel talking about Rijnland dress. TRC Sunday Textile Talk, 27 February 2022It's been a little while since initially working on the idea of a Sunday Textile Talk. All thanks to Covid many of our planned activities during the last two years had to be postponed. But since last Friday many of the masking and social distancing regulations were dropped here in the Netherlands, and the coming together of groups can now take place. What a relief. So last Sunday we finally had the first Sunday Textile Talk!
These talks will take place on the last Sunday of every month. There will be formal lectures, as well as informal talks. The aim is to show the diversity of textiles. It will also give people the chance to see any pop-up and larger exhibitions on display at the TRC.
Mrs. Keijzer-Sarneel showing her Rijnland dress, TRC Sunday Textile Talk, 29 February 2022The first Sunday talk was given yesterday, on the 27th February 2022, by Annie Keijzer-Sarneel and was about Rijnland lace caps. Annie talked about the various forms of lace caps worn in the western parts of the Netherlands, near Leiden, in the late 19th and early 20th century.
She also talked about the different types of laces and nets (tulle) used to make them, as well as the daily, Sunday and mourning forms. The talk was illustrated by various examples from the TRC Collection (on blue panels) and items from her own collection, rather than depending on a PowerPoint presentation. The interaction was a great plus point to the talk!
Photograph of a seated woman wearing a short Rijnland cap, 1860s-1870s. Photographer: August Hülster, Amsterdam (TRC 2021.2439s).
Equally interesting, and this I hope will be a feature of some of the future lectures, Annie came in Rijnland dress. She explained, for example, the stage by stage steps needed to put on the Rijnland headdress, from the black under cap, the metal oorijzer, the lace cap and related head jewellery. She made it clear why you needed the various bands and ties in order to create the tight fitting effect. You can read about this sort of headdress in books and articles, but actually seeing someone put it on, and indeed take it off, is so much better.
Woman wearing a long Rijnland cap, 1870s. Photographer: Koorenhoff, Muskadelsteeg, Leiden (TRC 2021.2439c).There were nearly twenty people at the Talk, including Nel de Wit. She is the lady who in August 2021 donated to the TRC a photo album (TRC 2021.2439a-z) from the second half of the 19th century (for a separate blog on the album, click here). The album included many of her ancestors and other family members wearing lace caps of various types. Photographs from the album, as well as images owned by the speaker had been scanned and then enlarged. They form part of the current TRC pop-up exhibition about Rijnland lace caps.
Another participant at the Sunday textile talk was Bettie Stijnman, who is a lace maker and a specialist in ‘s Gravenmoer lace. She very kindly re-created (re-made) a flounce of this type of lace used for a Rijnland cap (TRC 2021.2446) in the TRC Collection. Bettie briefly explained what she did in order to remake the lace (for another blog on this subject, click here).
Gillian Vogelsang, Director TRC, 28 February 2022
