Blog

Amulet case, Teke Turkmen, Afghanistan, mid-20th century (TRC 2024.0352).Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood, 4 February 2024

Over the last few years, Willem and I have regularly been travelling to Nice in southern France to talk with May and Rolando Schinasi, a lovely elderly couple with a fascinating history. He is an Italian born in Egypt before the Second World War (he remembers the battle of El Alamein!), she is French and they met in Kabul, Afghanistan in the 1960s. This was before the Hippy Trail and there were very few foreigners visiting Afghanistan, let alone living there. They left the country after the Russian invasion at Christmas 1979.

The Schinasi’s and Willem have spent many years in Afghanistan, albeit at different times, and love the country as it used to be and its ancient historical roots.

Because of this bond the TRC had already become the home to part of May and Rolando's Afghan and Uzbek clothing and textile collection and the inspiration behind an exhibition of Afghan dress held at the TRC in 2010-2011 (still to be seen in the form of an online exhibition).

Our latest visit to see May and Ronaldo, late January, was a little fraught, as we were caught up in the ripples of the French farmers' closure of many main roads, as well as that of Belgian farmers' actions around Brussels.

The car trip took twice as much time as normal. Coming back was even longer and more complex, driving at night along provincial routes, but we have seen, albeit in the dark, some medieval towns in France we would never have visited otherwise!

Just before 11:00, a group from Stichting Güney and the Women's Committee of ISN Mimar Sinan, Leiden, including its director Fikrye Sen, arrived to spend the next two hours transforming the workspace of the TRC along the Hogewoerd in Leiden into a Henna Party venue. 

Display of garments and other textiles traditionally presented at a Henna Night, at the TRC on Sunday 28th January 2024.

Thanks to their efforts, the guests at TRC Leiden had an unforgettable experience. The guests included other members of the Turkish women’s committee, members of other cultural institutions and women from Huis van de Buurt Morschwijck and frequent TRC visitors and volunteers.

Portrait of a lady in an interior, by Willem van Mieris (Leiden, 1662-1747) and dating to 1694. The painting is in the Leiden Collection, New York.First and foremost, may 2024 be a peaceful year! After opening on Monday 15th, the first week back at the TRC has been very stimulating. A quick survey of some of the events and activities will give you a better idea of what can happen at the TRC!

We recently announced the Turkish henna party being held by the Leiden-based Stichting Güney at the TRC on Sunday, the 28th January. Its going to be a busy event as already over 40 people have registered to attend! 

On a totally different subject: The Leiden Collection, New York, contacted us about the identification of lace in 17th century Dutch paintings, in particular the portrait of a lady in an interior by the Leiden painter, Willem van Mieris (1662-1747) and dating to 1694.

The Leiden painter, Willem van Mieris, 1662-1747, portrayed by his son, Frans van Mieris. Private collection.One of my colleagues, bobbin lace teacher, Gon Homburg, was able to identify the lace as that of Venetian Gros Point, also known as Venetian Raised Needle Lace (or possibly an imitation), a form of needle lace very popular among the 17th and 18th century elite in western Europe. It’s really interesting being able to add more details to paintings, about textiles and accessories, and seeing lace being used both as an object (decoration of a sleeve cuff) and as a symbol (status and wealth). It was also nice to emphasise the Leiden connection.

TRC has just published a new online exhibition. It deals with dress and fashion from the 1920s, the time of flapper dresses and long cigarette holders. 

Display at the TRC exhibition: The 1920s from Head to Toe: Fashion from 100 Years ago.

The new exhibition is The 1920s from Head to Toe: Fashion from 100 Years ago. The exhibition can be enjoyed and/or download here. It reflects the 'live' exhibition on display at the TRC in Leiden. This exhibition, and the online version, were curated by Augusta de Gainzbourg of the TRC.

Brown felt hat with a brown ribbon. The Netherlands, 1920s (TRC 2007.0969).

The exhibition focuses on what people were wearing in the 1920s at various times of the day and on different occasions. It includes Western fashion from the 1920s, mostly for women, for daily, afternoon and evening wear, but also underwear and pyjamas, sports wear, and a ceremonial outfit for a parliamentarian.

It also includes a section with samples of printed cloth from the 1920s, collected by the artist and designer, Prof. Yves Cuvelier from Paris (1913-2005).

First and foremost may 2024 be a peaceful year!

It may have been an extended holiday period, with both Christmas and New Year, but many aspects of life at the TRC have continued, including cataloguing items, writing blogs, newsletters, even starting on the annual report for 2023 (all TRC annual reports from 1999 onwards are available online here) and, of course, reading about textiles and dress in all its many forms. I was also interested in reading a recent BBC article where they described various trends discernible for catwalks fashion in 2023 and by projection in 2024.

Three identical Tenerife lace circles with a central wheel. The Netherlands, early 20th century (TRC 2023.2603a-c).

Piece of black card with a sample of a white frame made from tape lace that has been used to make 16 panels, each of which is filled with a different form of needle lace and net. Made by G.H.P. Wening betweeen 1919 and 1922 (TRC 2023.2805.094).The TRC recently received a wooden chest inscribed on the lid with the Dutch word Handwerken (‘Handwork’). The chest had long been in the possession of the Van der Kooy family. They recently offered the chest to the Stichting Tesselschade, a foundation set up in 1871 with the basic aim of women supporting other women in various crafts, including textiles and embroidery. https://tesselschade.nl/

However, although the Stichting Tesselschade has a collection of objects itself, they only want items directly related to the foundation and its activities. So Mevr. van den Wijngaart-Carrière, the chair of the Depotcommissie Tesselschade, contacted the TRC to ask if we would like the chest and its contents? After opening the chest, and seeing its contents, we immediately said yes.

A modern steam punk corset in a paisley (buteh) material (TRC 2020.3832).We are getting more and more ‘textile’ questions being directed at the TRC via social media and emails. They range from what is wrong with Dutch sheep and their wool (there was a recent newspaper article stating that the wool was too coarse for general use) to when did manufacturers start adding shoe sizes to the soles of their knitted socks (that question really floored me, I have no idea!).

We recently had another question from someone working on a school project about corsets and the different types. We could point her to various useful books and to the Victoria and Albert Museum’s amazing collection of corsets (the great advantage of having such collections online!).

In a TRC blog last year, Shelley Anderson mentioned a form of needle lace that is now called Tenerife (or Teneriffe) lace, also known as roseta canario or calado canario in Spanish. Because of the round (medallion) shape of many of its end products, this form of lace is also sometimes called ‘sol lace’.

Tenerife lace collar, late 19th century (TRC 2020.0462)

Tenerife lace is distinctive for its radial threads that are usually wrapped around the pins or ‘teeth’ that are placed along the edge of a small round wheel, and for the medallion pattern that is woven with a needle. The wheels are usually made of a rigid substance, such as thick card, wood or metal (see TRC 2023.2316a-c). The resulting medallion is removed from the wheel and then stitched to other examples to make a much larger piece.

Tenerife lace metal wheel, early 20th century (TRC 2023.2316a).

Tenerife lace metal wheel, with radial threads, early 20th century (TRC 2023.2316b).

Tenerife lace metal wheel, with the beginning of a needle woven pattern, early 20th century (TRC 2023.2316c).