The last few months have seen various textile and garment donations to the TRC Leiden, including Indonesian and Philippine items. The Indonesian textiles are particularly fascinating because of their origins and backgrounds.
Ikat cloth from Bali (Ubud), Indonesia, 1960-1980, with stripes of varying widths, some in dark blue, others with ikat created stylised floral, foliage and abstract shapes in white, red and blue (TRC 2022.1471).
Some of the pieces were purchased or given to Dutch officials and their families in the 1920s and constitute an intrinsic part of Dutch colonial history. They include the items given by the Ottow family (click here). Many of the items represent presents, household pieces, as well as clothing that a member of the family, Thecla Caspari, actually wore when she was in Indonesia with her husband, who was the Dutch assistant-resident in Atjeh, Sumatra.
Detail of Ikat cloth that is decorated with stripes of various widths with geometric and abstract shapes in off-white, dark red and black on a black ground. Flores, Indonesia, 1950-1980 (TRC 2022.0857).
In contrast, the making of deliberate collections is represented by the Zant and Spée donations, but again with two very different backgrounds and reasons. The Zant Collection was put together during the Zant family’s many trips to Indonesia, with the specific aim of personally collecting ikats from the main (and lesser known) islands of Indonesia where this type of cloth is traditionally produced. This collection will form the basis of the TRC’s Ikat reference and identification collection that is currently being developed by Kelly Wong, an Amsterdam University intern at the TRC.
Batik cotton cloth from Java, Indonesia, mid-20th century, with a black, brown and off-white design including stylised flowers and quatrefoils (TRC 2018.2883).
A very different collection, of Indonesian batiks and ikats, is represented by a recent donation of over 100 items by Miep Spée, which will be coming online over the next few weeks. Miep Spée is a Dutch textile artist who became, as a student, fascinated with the batik technique. She was given a grant to travel to Indonesia in the late 1970s in order to learn how batik was actually made, and to advance her own studies and her understanding of textiles.
Ikat cloth from East Sumba, Indonesia, 1950-1975, with a repeating design of large stylised human figures, birds (especially peacocks), snakes and animals in yellow and red on a dark blue ground (TRC 2022.0905).
Ikat cloth from East Sumba, Indonesia, 1980-2000, decorated with large-scale human figures, some on horseback, foliage, animals, birds and geometric motifs in white, dark red, red and mid-blue, all on a purplish ground (TRC 2022.0896).
Her collection consists of a range of textiles, including some old pieces plus (then) contemporary items, and is of particular interest because most of the pieces have labels stating when and where the items were acquired, and in most cases how much she paid for them, in local currency and in Dutch guilders. There are also local names and other details. A treasure-trove of information that will take some time to work through.
The ikats, for example, will be added to the TRC ikat reference collection mentioned above, and we are now seriously wondering about a similar collection for batiks. It’s a lot of work, but one that will help use the TRC Collection in an even more active manner.
And finally, there is the recent donation by Ruurdje Laarhoven, a Dutch academic living in the US, who worked for many years in the Philippines. During her stay in that country she became intrigued with local textiles and deliberately started to collect Philippine pieces dating from the early 20th century onwards.
The Philippines have a diverse textile tradition that has long been overshadowed by that of Indonesia. We are keenly looking forward to learning more about these textiles and garments. In addition, we are currently in conversation with a Leiden University student who is interested in doing her MA thesis on these pieces.
It is noticeable that one type of cloth from the Philippines is attracting more and more interest, namely piña, which is made from pineapple leaves. In this age of growing awareness of sustainability and less dependence on synthetic threads and cloth, could piña be one of the ‘new’ sources of cloth?
Back strap loom made of wood, with a length of ikat cloth made from abaca (Musa textilis), Philippines, mid-20th century (TRC 2021.3214).
We have been asked various questions about all of these donations, such as why do we want to make yet another Indonesian textile collection when so many museums in the Netherlands already have one? What are we going to do with them?
Detail of a pina (pineapple fibre) cloth from the Philippines, early 21st century (TRC 2021.1358).Reasonable questions, but the reply is simple. As an education centre, we encourage (serious) visitors to come, see and examine (and feel!) the textiles in our collection. Something various museums are unable to allow.
We also emphasise the fact that the technical skills behind the making of the textiles need to be more widely known, appreciated and made available for study. In addition, we are actively putting all these items online, sometimes within a few weeks, in an open access manner, so they are available to everyone as soon as possible.
In this respect it is worth adding that thanks to Erasmus+ NL we have just been given a large grant to help make the TRC, including the collection, more inclusive, so we are actively encouraging and inviting members of different communities to come, see, examine and discuss these pieces, and indeed other textiles at the TRC.
Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood, 17 July 2022
