TRC closed until Monday 1 April.
Because we are changing exhibitions the TRC will be closed until Monday1 April, when we will show a splendid collection of Qing China clothing (see below). We hope to welcome you soon.
Because we are changing exhibitions the TRC will be closed until Monday1 April, when we will show a splendid collection of Qing China clothing (see below). We hope to welcome you soon.
To make searching for online facilities of the TRC easier, you can click here for a directory of online TRC sites, including the agenda, the latest blogs, the object data base of the TRC collection, the library catalogue, the online exhibitions, the embroidery charts, etc. Success!
You are cordially invited to the opening of the TRC’s latest exhibition, which is about Chinese imperial textiles and dress from the last years of the (Manchu) Qing dynasty (1644-1911; see separate blog). The exhibition, curated by Augusta de Gunzbourg of the TRC, gives an overview of many elements of clothing worn at the dynastic court (from head to toe, literally), but also gives a wider geographical context to these garments, including Chinese garments from Indonesia.
Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood, 10 March 2024
A gentle day (9th March) in London visiting some very different venues! As part of looking at exhibitions and other displays, Willem and I went to three venues today. The first was St. Paul’s Cathedral, the second Apsley House, the stately home of the Duke of Wellington who defeated Napoleon in 1815, and the third was the King's Gallery (the former Queen’s Gallery), Buckingham Palace.
On the ground floor, the grand cathedral of St. Paul’s has become a commercial institute with a couple of small chapels for those who want to pray, but visitors have to pay for the honour of being there, and it feels like it. But there are some interesting items, such as the very grand and elaborate memorial to the Duke of Wellington!
However, going down into the Crypt is stepping into British history, as there are the graves and memorials to Sir Christopher Wren, Sir Isaac Newton, Florence Nightingale, Montgomery of El Alamein as well as many artists and poets including Blake, Millais and Turner. The 18th century memorials are subdued, the 19th century ones are not.
Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood, 9 March 2024
The Fabric of Democracy”, which was curated by Amber Butchart. We decided also to visit several exhibitions in different venues in London, to see various specific items and get new ideas and inspiration.
Willem and I are in London at the moment to pick up TRC items lent to the Museum of Fashion from their exhibition called “Over the years we have seen good exhibitions, bad exhibitions, and some that reminded us of the ‘Emperor’s new clothes’ (i.e. there was nothing there, literally). So on Friday afternoon we went with great curiosity to Tate Britain to see their new exhibition Sargent and Fashion (with paintings by the American artist John Singer Sargent, 1856-1925).
The exhibition was slated in a review in the Guardian (20 February) by Jonathan Jones as being “A horrible exhibition” (in his first sentence). “Sargent’s gloriously rich and subtle paintings can’t be reduced to dreary facts about hats, dresses and opera gowns. Sadly, that’s just what’s happened” Jones seems to have disliked the paintings being displayed together with the garments actually worn by the people being portrayed. It appears to have distracted him from Art.
Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood, 23 February 2024
The three A’s (adopt, adapt, acknowledge) are an important aspect of the TRC, namely how people see, adopt and adapt clothing forms, techniques, patterns and so on, from other cultures and societies.
I have written on this subject before in a separate blog.
Adopting and adapting textile and garment aspects is a process that has been going on for thousands of years throughout the world, going north, south, east and west!
TRC has been running its successful five-day intensive courses on textiles. They are being taught in Dutch or English by Dr Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood, textile and dress historian and director of the TRC.
For many years theThe courses are a mixture of theoretical and practical elements, with an emphasis on trying out the various techniques of textile production (spinning, dyeing, weaving), on holding and examining fibres, textiles and finished items, all in order to learn and understand what is happening and why various combinations take place.
The aim is to make textiles less ‘frightening’ and allow people to look and understand a textile, from virtually any historical period or culture.
The courses are an absolute 'must' for anyone dealing with archaeological, historical and modern textiles, for designers and fashion students, as well as anyone who is seriously interested in all aspects of textile history and production, and simply wants to know and practise more.
The upcoming editions of the course:
For 2024: 22-26 April; 24-28 June; 12-16 Aug; 7-11 Oct.
Ann Cable, 6 February 2024.
I was recently helping a friend downsize and this involved sorting many textiles which she would donate to the TRC. One of these was a smocked child’s dress, made in Indonesia for her daughter in around 1973 (TRC 2023.1894). Smocking is a technique whereby a series of pleats are made that are fastened together with embroidery stitches. This was a popular way to create a slightly stretchy garment, before the invention of elastic.