Paysanne de l'Angoumois (Southwest France), wearing clogs. Costume print, France, late 18th century (TRC 2023.0388).
It's been busy over the last few weeks at the TRC! No surprise there, it's is simply getting busier and busier as we have new activities, visitors, items for the collection, etc.
Some good news – thanks to the efforts of a colleague, Maria Linkogle, the TRC has just been given a grant via the national Cultuurparticipatie programme for working with various groups of people, especially those with Middle Eastern backgrounds living in the Netherlands.
One of the most recent acquisitions of the TRC: Hand embroidered waistcoat, the Netherlands, c. 1914 (TRC 2023.0457).The aim is to use the TRC Collection as a basis for making various exhibitions and publications about the role of textiles and dress. Our colleague Maria Linkogle will be writing a blog about what is involved.
Some time ago the TRC was asked to present three figures wearing Dutch regional dress – from Volendam, Marken and Bunschoten! Three very different forms of dress. These will be on display at the International Textile Festival to be held in Nantes (France) between the 19-22 April 2023.
The festival is called Pour l’Amour du Fil (‘For the love of thread’) with the theme ‘The Netherlands from every angle’. It will also include contributions from the Dutch Quilt Guild, the Dutch Modern Quilt Guild, and many more.
Pair of pale yellow wooden clogs, the Netherlands, early 21st century (TRC 2023.0405a-b).
Other colleagues have been busy with photographing and cataloguing various objects in the TRC Collection, including a beautiful collection of late 18th and 19th century prints showing local dress forms.
We have two new student volunteers, both MA students from Leiden University, who are helping with the photography and they are learning how to look after the various aspects of a small (but growing) institute. There are plans for making more online exhibitions as well as films. More in due course.
This week we have been working on making a mini-exhibition about wooden shoes and sandals from around the world. The display is called ‘What are clogs?’ and includes items from Japan, Afghanistan, Spain, France, and of course, the Netherlands. More details can be found here.
We are still looking for a pair of Indian wooden sandals called paduka, which have wooden toe knobs (if you are willing to donate a pair please contact us at the TRC), and for a pair of mill clogs from northern England. The use of wooden shoes and sandals is seen by some as a potential replacement for plastic and leather footwear, rather than simply an historical curiosity.
Delegation of Basques at the TRC, Friday 7th April, with TRC staff (and a Dutchman, guess who).
On Friday 7th April we had a visit from a group from Basque Spain, as well as a Netherlander now working in Norway, and yes, one of the things we discussed was wooden shoes, as the mini-exhibition includes a pair of Basque clogs. It turns out that one of our Basque visitors knows a wooden shoe maker so she is going to talk with him about his work and the future of Basque wooden footwear. We also talked about making a Basque textile and dress collection at the TRC and welcoming Basque students to Leiden for internships at the TRC. Lots to think about.
Hand embroidered, cotton blouse, from the Pădureni region (Hunedoara county) in Romania (TRC 2018.0323).The same day we were getting items ready for the Romanian Blouse Day (8th April), which will include 15 participants (including 7 guests of Romanian origin now living in the Netherlands). More about this day will appear shortly in a separate TRC Blog.
This is going to be the first in a series of study days looking at various aspects of regional dress from a range of different cultures, with the active participation of people with an immigration background.
This week we have also been offered collections of items from the Philippines, a small collection of saris from India, and a range of Chinese items, including embroidered pieces. Many of these items will be used in future volumes of the Bloomsbury World Encyclopedia of Embroidery, the third volume of which – Embroidery from Sub-Saharan Africa, will be coming out in a few weeks time.
We are also getting ready for our next booksale that will take place on the 16th April, together with a fascinating talk on the scent of Antiquity. Click here for more information. In other words, lots has and will be happening at the TRC!
Gillian Vogelsang, 8th April 2023
