Textile Research Centre, Leiden

The Stichting (Foundation) Textile Research Centre (TRC), Leiden, Netherlands, is an independent research institute working in the field of textiles and dress.^[1] It is housed at Hogewoerd 164 in Leiden and includes exhibition space, storage rooms, a lecture room and other working areas. The current director of the TRC (per November 2010) is Dr. Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood, a textile and dress historian.

Aims

The TRC has the stated aim of encouraging research into anthropological and archaeological textiles and clothing in the widest sense of the word. In particular, the TRC specialises in Dress: namely, what people do to their body (body modification)Body modification and what they wear (body supplements) in order to express their identity. The basic theory of dress is outlined in an article by Eicher and Roach-Higgins (1992).

History

The TRC was founded in 1991 as a Stichting (foundation; non-profit organisation). Since then it has been involved in many aspects of the academic study of textiles and dress, especially those from the Near East.

In 1997 the TRC started building up a textile and dress collection. By late 2010 the collection had grown to over 6,500 textiles, garments and accessories from all over the world. Most of the garments come from the Near East and Islamic lands: notably, Afghanistan, Egypt, Iran, Oman and Saudi Arabia. It also has a large collection of Dutch regional dress. Many of the garments were obtained during fieldwork by TRC staff and students, whilst others were purchased or given as donations.

Until August 2009 the TRC was housed in the National Museum of Ethnology, Leiden, but since then it has moved to new premises in the centre of Leiden. It now organises a series of exhibitions, lectures, workshops and training courses for students and others who are interested. Recent exhibitions included: Embroidery from the Arab World (2009–2010) and Well-Dressed Afghanistan (opening November 2010).

Middle Eastern dress remains a focal point of the TRC. The veils in the TRC collection, for instance, were used for a major exhibition at the National Museum of Ethnology, Leiden (1996), and for various publications, including Covering the Moon: An Introduction to Middle Eastern Face Veils (2008) (Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood and Willem Vogelsang; Leuven: Peeters, 2008)..

Book series and Journals

• Studies in Textile and Costume History (Leiden: Brill)
• Khil`a: Textiles and Dress in the Islamic World (Leuven: Peeters). An academic journal published under the aegis of the TRC.

Exhibitions

Egyptian appliqué

• De Kleren van de farao: National Museum of Antiquities, Leiden (1994; travelled to Denmark and Germany). An exhibition about textiles and clothing in Ancient Egypt.
• Sluiers ontsluierd (For Modesty’s Sake?): National Museum of Ethnology, Leiden (1996–1997). An exhibition about the history and use of veils and face veiling in the Near East.
• Tutankhamun’s Wardrobe: Textile Museum, Boras, Sweden. An exhibition with replicas of the garments found in the tomb of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh, Tutankhamun.^[2] This exhibition started in Boras, Sweden, in 1999 and since then travelled to Britain, Denmark, Egypt, the Netherlands, Poland and the United States. This exhibition is now permanently based at the Textile Museum, Boras, Sweden.
• Hajj: National Museum of Ethnology, Leiden (2004–2005). An exhibition about the Hajj and the clothing (ihram) worn by Muslim pilgrims to Mecca.
• Flowing Robes: Clothing and Jewellery from Saudi Arabia: National Museum of Ethnology, Leiden (2006–2007).
• Dutch Lace Caps (Stadhuis Leiden, 2007–2008)
• The Indian sari (National Museum of Ethnology, Leiden, 2010)
• Embroidery from the Arab World (TRC Gallery, 2010)
• Well Dressed Afghanistan (TRC Gallery, 2010–2011)

References

J.B. Eicher and M.E. Roach-Higgins, “Definition and classification of dress: Implications for analyses of gender roles,” in R. Barnes and J. B. Eicher (eds), Dress and Gender. Making and Meaning in Cultural Contexts, New York, St. Martin’s Press, 1992, pp. 9–28.

Sources

C. Fluck and G.M. Vogelsang-Eastwood, Riding Costume in Egypt: Origin and Appearance, Leiden, Brill, 2004.

R. van de Velde-Lagendijk and G.M. Vogelsang-Eastwood, Kanten mutsen uit Nederland/Dutch Lace Caps, Rotterdam and Gronsveld, Barjesteh, 2007 (in Dutch and English).

G.M. Vogelsang-Eastwood, De Kleren van de farao, Amsterdam, De Bataafsche Leeuw, 1994 (exhibition catalogue, National Museum of Antiquities, Leiden, Netherlands. This catalogued also appeared in Danish and German).

G.M. Vogelsang-Eastood, For Modesty’s Sake, Rotterdam, Barjesteh and Meeuwes, 1996 (exhibition catalogue; National Museum of Ethnology, Leiden, Netherlands; Dutch edition: Sluiers Ontsluierd).

G.M. Vogelsang-Eastwood, Tutankhamuns Wardrobe, Rotterdam, Barjesteh and Meeuwes, 1999 (book accompanying an international exhibition with the same name).

G.M. Vogelsang-Eastwood and L. Barjesteh, An Introduction to Qajar Era Dress, Rotterdam, Barjesteh, 2002.

Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood and Willem Vogelsang, Covering the Moon: An Introduction to Middle Eastern Face Veils, Leuven, Peeters, 2008.

External links: general

• Textile Research Centre official website. Retrieved on 19--03-2016
• Barjesteh Publishers, Rotterdam and Gronsveld, Netherlands. Retrieved on 18-11-2010
• Peeters Publishers, Leuven, Belgium. Retrieved on 18-11-2010
• Textilmuseet, Boras, Sweden. Retrieved on 18-11-2010

External links: digital publications

Qajar Dress in the RMV. Retrieved on 18-11-2010

Dressed in Ihram. Retrieved on 18-11-2010