Portrait of Prof. Lammert Leertouwer, Professor of Theology, Rector Magnificus from 1991-1997, Leiden University. Painting by Marike Bok (1979).We are very sad to inform you that Prof. Lammert Leertouwer (1932-2024) died on Monday, 21st October 2024. Lammert was a member of the TRC Board for many years and was Chair of the Board until his retirement in 2017, but he continued as an ordinary member.

I first met Lammert at the Volkenkunde Museum, Leiden, where he was a special advisor to the museum. He had just retired as Rector Magnificus of Leiden University, and the museum had quickly employed him to help them promoting research at different levels.

We met in the queue of the Museum’s café and discussed life, the universe, textiles, etc. He totally understood what we were doing and why. When his time at the museum came to an end, he very kindly agreed to continue helping the TRC, because he was intrigued by us, and what we wanted to do. I had various talks with Lammert in his study at home discussing problems, people and the future of the TRC. His many anecdotes were proverbial. I shall miss Lammert.

Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood, Director, 23 October 2024

In May 2018, the TRC welcomed Dr. Magdalena Wozniak, a Marie Curie Fellow from the Polish Academy of Sciences. She is an archaeologist working on the textiles found at (Christian) Nubian sites in the north of Sudan. She had attended the TRC five-day Intensive Textile Course in 2015, and it was wonderful to see her again.

But her visit had a special purpose: she wanted to study the Sudanese textiles, and the raw fibres and spinning weaving equipment, all of them collected by the grande dame of British archaeology, Grace Crowfoot (1879-1957) and now housed at the TRC. For a blog about Magdalena’s visit in May 2018, click here.

She again came to the TRC in April of this year, together with a group of colleagues, and accompanied by Dr. Karel Innemée, formerly working at Leiden University and now employed as assistant professor by the University of Warsaw. He is also a board member of the TRC. They are all working on the project: ‘Costumes of Authority: Images of Royalty and Clergy in Christian Nubia.’ A detailed report of their visit and the project they are working on can be downloaded here.

Fresco with the reconstructed clothing. Research project, University of Warsaw: ‘Costumes of Authority: Images of Royalty and Clergy in Christian Nubia.’

The British magazine Jewellery History Today (autumn 2024) has just published an article by Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood and Emilie Lambert about a collection of Afghan jewellery donated to the TRC by May and Rolando Schinasi from Nice, France.

Teke Turkmen headpiece for a woman, early 20th century (TRC 2024.0321). Donated by May and Rolando Schinasi.

Both have a fascinating history. Rolando, an Italian born in Egypt before the Second World War, initially went to Afghanistan in 1957 as an importer and exporter. May, French by birth, studied Persian and its Afghan dialect (Dari) while living with her uncle, Daniel Schlumberger, director of DAFA (Délégation Archéologique Française en Afghanistan). The couple met in Kabul in 1964, married in France in 1965, and lived in Afghanistan until 1977.

The full article, in PDF-format, can be downloaded here.

Voorbeeld van Russisch bandkant.Russisch bandkant werd veelal in Vologda en omstreken gemaakt, ongeveer 450 km ten noorden van Moskou. Vologda is het beroemdste kantcentrum in Rusland met een heel karakteristiek type kant. Het motief bestaat uit een bandje in linnenslag, vaak met een sierdraad er in en met opvullingen er in en er omheen. Over het algemeen worden die vullingen slechts met twee paren van klosjes gemaakt. Dat vergt vooraf overleg en inzicht hoe dit gedaan moet worden. De mooiste ontwerpen uit Vologda zijn vrij ingewikkeld, omdat er vaak grotere oppervlakken moeten worden gevuld.

Tijdens deze workshops maken we eenvoudige kleine figuratieve ornamenten. Net als in de echte Vologda kanten vormt het bandje het motief en zijn de vullingen een versierend onderdeel.

De instructeur is Gon Homburg. Zij leerde kant maken van haar moeder en is vanaf 1983 officieel geregistreerd als kloskantleraar. Ze geeft les aan liefhebbers en geeft workshops aan diverse ambachtsscholen, waaronder de TRC. De cursus wordt gegeven op drie woensdagen, op 2,16 en 30 oktober 2024, van 10.00-13.00 uur. Na het traject van drie volgt nog een serie van drie workshops waarin enkele eenvoudige kerstkantversieringen worden gemaakt in verschillende technieken, waaronder Russische tapekant.

Lokatie: TRC Leiden, Hogewoerd 164, 2351 HW Leiden. Docent: Gon Homburg. Taal: Nederlands/Engels. Kosten: 40 euro per woensdag (per individuele workshop op de dag zelf te betalen). Materiaal/koffie/thee is aanwezig. Max. aantal deelnemers: 8. Minimaal: 5. Graag ruim van tevoren aanmelden: Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.. 

Detail of TRC 2024.2190.(5 August 2024) Among the textiles recently given to the TRC by Hélène van Spaendonck, Belgium, there is a large patchwork cloth (TRC 2024.2190) from India that is made up of numerous pieces of Banjara embroidery.

This type of Indian patchwork is often dyed by dealers, and others, in a dull brown, dark grey, black or a red colour, which makes it virtually impossible to see the original colours or patterns. Fortunately this cloth has not been subjected to this undignified treatment.

Patchwork of various squares and rectangles of (mainly) Banjara embroidery with a wide variety of repeating, geometric patterns in various colours. India, 20th century (TRC 2024.2190).

Moroccan kaftan made from a Japanese obi (sash), 1950s (TRC 2001.0074).Gillian Vogelsang, Director TRC, 13 July 2025.

The TRC collection of textiles, clothing and accessories from around the world was started in 1997 with 43 pieces from Afghanistan, Egypt and Syria. Since then it has grown to nearly 51,909 items (16 September 2025), most of which are online (click here for the online catalogue).

The items come from very diverse backgrounds with respect to time and place. Some of the items in the collection have been purchased, but the vast majority has been collected during fieldwork or very kindly donated by various institutions and private donors. The TRC  is a good example of Citizen Culture and Heritage at work!

The collection has no boundaries with respect to geography or time. It ranges from Afghan embroidery, German Lederhosen, Indonesian batiks, historical textiles from Leiden, to delicate silks from Renaissance Italy and spinning and weaving equipment from the Andes.

by Martine Benot-Teunissen, costume historian, 14 June 2024

I am proud to announce the publication of a book about recent archaeological textile finds in the Netherlands: Textiel uit Hollandse bodem. Archeologische vondsten uit de 17de en 18de eeuw ('Textiles from Dutch soil. Archaeological finds from the 17th and 18th century'). The book can be ordered here. Last week I was very happy to present a copy of the book to Dr Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood, Director of the TRC.

The initial plans for this book were developed following the rediscovery of a large number of textiles that were excavated in the 1980s at the Waterlooplein (Vlooienburg), in Amsterdam. Some of these textiles were not yet properly identified and registered, and as a result remained unknown to the general public. It soon became clear that there were more textile treasures housed elsewhere in other depots!

Together with archaeologist Marijn Stolk we embarked upon a project to unlock and investigate archaeological textiles from the seventeenth and eighteenth century which are housed in various depots. This project has now resulted in a beautifully illustrated publication.

by Shelley Anderson, long-time volunteer and supporter of the TRC, with a special interest in textile crafts, including  American quilts. She was born in the USA, and now lives in the Netherlands. 1 May 2024.

Hamilton, Missouri, is a typical small town in the American Midwest. This means a small population (in Hamilton’s case, around1,600 people), and a much smaller pool of local jobs.

At least that was the case until 15 years ago, when a passionate quilter named Jenny Doan opened the Missouri Star Quilt Company on the town’s small main street. Today, the company runs quilting shops in 35 of the town’s buildings. Some of the shops are pop-ups, selling , for example, only Halloween- or Christmas-themed fabrics during these holidays. The business now makes about US$ 20 million a year. An estimated 8,000 people visit Hamilton every month to shop for quilt-related materials, especially fabrics; to take quilting classes; and to tour the large murals of quilts painted on the town’s buildings.

Quilt with an appliqué design of large, stylised flowers and leaves in various materials. USA, 1850s-1860s (TRC 2019.2402).