Last year we were given a number of Romanian blouses by Monique Amsel from Paris. At the time we wrote a blog about this donation. In order to gain more information about these embroidered garments a special meeting was held last year that was organised by members of the Romanian community living here in the Netherlands.
Romanian Blouse Day, 8 April 2023. Photograph Maria Linkogle.
This led to the event yesterday (8 April 2023) that was open to anyone interested in the subject. In fact there were seven Romanians and nine ‘others’ (mainly Dutch, but also including American, Chinese and English participants). And throughout the day other people, Romanian and Dutch, popped in to see what we were doing and to talk about their blouse experiences.
Monique Amsel showing a new donation to the TRC. Romanian Blouse Day, 8 April 2023. Photograph Maria Linkogle.I started the day with a brief introduction to the TRC, followed by a word about the Amsel collection by Monique Amsel herself, who had come over from Paris especially for Blouse Day, and then co-organizer, Monica Brinza, gave a talk about the origins and main regional types of Romanian blouses.
Later in the day Monica also gave a powerpoint presentation about the basic construction of and placement of decoration on Romanian blouses. Two of the Romanian participants came in blouses they had made and embroidered themselves, giving us valuable insights into the making of these iconic garments.
There were three large tables set in the TRC Gallery and workroom, and each table had two knowledgeable participants and two newcomers to the subject. Embroidered blouses and dresses were put onto the tables and examined, and notes made on a form concerning materials, construction, names of patterns, their symbolic meaning, etc. All this information will be included in the TRC Catalogue of objects.
Monica Brinza showing a Romanian embroidered dress from the TRC collection. Romanian Blouse Day, 8 April 2023. Photograph Maria Linkogle.Hands were washed before handling the blouses, but no gloves were worn as so much information concerning the materials (mainly locally produced hemp and linen cloth for the older blouses) comes via the touching of the objects. In addition a number of garments were put on mannequins, as these garments are 3-dimensional and in order to understand the importance of the embroidered sleeves and the position of the embroidery it was helpful to see them in the round.
Many details arose as a result of the various discussions. I had not understood, for example, that the embroidery on some blouses is divided into three sections, representing the air, ground and water. The lines of embroidery down the sleeves are literally known as rivers.
Some people were also talking about hemp and flax growing currently being re-introduced into parts of Romania as part of a sustainability process, but also that climate change has meant that some traditional areas for these plant crops are no longer suitable.
Lunch was a ‘pot luck’ version with people bringing Romanian and other items and we shared both food, thoughts, ideas and experiences, and the time spent over lunch proved to be a very valuable moment in the day. Afterwards we spent more time looking at other blouses and dresses.
Romanian Blouse Day, 8 April 2023. Photograph Maria Linkogle.The day was finished by a group discussion about what had happened during the day, how could such a day be improved, and what was achieved. We all agreed: the Romanian embroidered blouses need more attention, and we should have several more sessions at the TRC, to be held on a Saturday and again open to the general public.
We also had a discussion about the types of Romanian blouses now housed at the TRC, but also the types we do not have and how to get them. We also want to have samples of the different ground materials, threads, tools, etc. We need these in order to make a representative collection of these iconic garments. In addition, we need far more details about the girls and women who made these blouses and stitched the embroideries. Who were they, how did they work, where did their inspiration come from, and when did they wear the garments? These are just a few of the many questions we have.
During the discussions, participants with friends and family in Romania or with holidays planned this summer all offered to help make such a comprehensive collection, with an emphasis on getting the stories behind the objects. Where did the cloth come from, what is it called, why was it suitable for a blouse, when were different colours worn? Citizen Culture at work!
And when we have gone through all of the relevant garments and acquired new garments and materials, we want to produce a catalogue of the TRC’s Romanian blouses, with details about materials, constructions, stitches, meanings, etc. One of the participants very kindly offered to help with the costs!
Romanian Blouse Day, 8 April 2023. Photograph: Maria Linkogle.
There are also plans for an exhibition about these garments to be held at the TRC, also made available to travel to other museums and similar institutes. We are now also thinking about other, comparable study days about textiles, techniques and garments from other parts of the world, including Turkish oya, Syrian and Palestinian embroidery, Indian embroidery, Guatemalan huipals, Yemeni textiles, not to mention Dutch lace caps! Other suggestions would be most welcome. We would of course like to organise such days together with the immigrant community in the Netherlands.
One little detail really made the Romanian participants really pleased, and proud. A curator of the Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam, currently preparing an exhibition about embroidery in the Wereldmuseum in Rotterdam, emailed during the day with photographs of a particular Romanian blouse, asking about its provenance, date etc. The questions were quickly answered, and the participants were amused.
Romanian Blouse Day, 8 April 2023. Photograph Maria Linkogle.
I would like to thanks everyone for their help in organising and taking part in the day. It was a very interesting and lively event, lots of details were shared and discussed, and perhaps equally important, although at an academic institute we should not admit this, it was great fun!
Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood, 9 April 2023
