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We have just had some very interesting visitors at the TRC, namely Keiko Okamoto and her mother, Nobuko (Tsugita) Okamoto, who are on their way from Japan to the International Textile & Garment Technology Exhibition (ITMA), in Milan, Italy, but they first wanted to come to Leiden to see what we are doing and why. They also wanted to see Leiden itself and especially the Siebold Huis, an international centre for Japanese studies, based on the famous Siebold collection of 19th century Japanese items. Both Augusta de Gunzbourg and myself were very pleased to welcome them at the TRC.

From left to right: Augusta de Gunzbourg, Keiko Okamoto, Nobuko (Tsugita) Okamoto, and the author. Monday 5 June 2023.

Over the last month or so we have had various questions about the TRC Reference Collection, and in particular how it is organised and used. These questions have come from individuals as well as various museums and groups, notably one in Kortrijk, Belgium, as well as Arraiolos (Portugal) and Lucknow, (India). So this blog is about the TRC Reference Collection and its function(s).

Sample of needle lace, the Netherlands, 20th century (TRC 2007.0559).

As part of building up the TRC’s reference collection, today Renske, a TRC colleague, and I went to a special textile market in Leiden (29th May) – it occurs twice a year and includes many stalls selling a wide range of woven and printed textiles, tulle and net, machine laces and embroideries, haberdashery (from pins to buckles, via threads of many kinds), knitting yarns, as well as one stall selling leather. Great fun! For the market of 30 October last year we published another blog.

Announcement for the 29 May textile market in Leiden

Author in front of Durham Cathedral, 25 May 2023. Photograph: Willem VogelsangI am looking out of my hotel window at the spectacular sight of the towers of the medieval cathedral of Durham and neighbouring castle; a building complex with over a thousand years of history. I could sit here for a very long time! However, this blog is about saints and embroidery, not early medieval buildings.

In previous blogs Willem and I have talked about our visits to look at the St Petrock’s altar cloth in Exeter Cathedral, England, and also about the embroideries associated with Frankish St Harlindis and St Relindis in Maaseik, Belgium, about St Thomas Becket’s garments and embroideries in Sens, France  and the embroidered cope associated with St Thomas Becket in Kortrijk, Belgium.

Double Wedding Ring quilt from Canada, 1930s (TRC 2023.0626).Quilts and the TRC have been the focus of various discussions!

We recently welcomed, for example, various visitors who came to examine our collection of American quilts, two of them were Americans who came a few days ago.

At the same time we had a material culture group from Heidelberg University, Germany (a blog about this visit will be published shortly), who came to see Asian textiles and garments. Their tutor (who is a quilter) and some of the students, however, spotted the quilts and wanted to see and know more about them as well.

I have just come back (10th – 16th May 2023) from an intense, yet relaxing time spent in Estonia looking at embroidered textiles for information and inclusion in Vol 5 of the Bloomsbury World Encyclopedia of Embroidery.

In addition, Willem and I were able to see and hear about a far wider range of textiles, dress and their uses, both in Estonia and in neighbouring countries. We also came away very impressed with the country, its museums and indeed, its food and countryside.

Merle Ernits and Gillian Vogelsang at the Heimtali Museum, Estonia; in the background a garden fence painted with knitted socks

A little while ago Monique Amsel from Paris donated a collection of mainly Central European items to the TRC. But there was also a small tunic-like Turkmen garment (TRC 2023.0477), the front of which covered with amulets of various types, including lots of coins. According to Monique, the garment was acquired in Paris many years ago.

Turkmen open-sided tunic, 1980s (TRC 2023.0477).

We are visiting the small university city of Tartu in southeastern Estonia, as part of the preparation of Vol. 5 of the Bloomsbury World Encyclopedia of Embroidery (central and eastern Europe). What we did not expect to see was a workshop run by Estonian volunteers and Ukrainian refugees that designs and produces camouflage nets for the Ukrainian army. Since last year, they have produced more than three thousand square metres of netting.

Camouflage netting for Ukraine in the making: University of Tartu, Estonia. 11 May 2023. Photograph by Willem Vogelsang.