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Recently some very interesting objects arrived at the TRC, kindly donated by Jasja Kotterman and family. As an intern at the TRC, I was asked to enter the objects into the TRC collection catalogue, tagging them and entering details, such as materials, country of origin, and techniques. Sometimes part of our work for the catalogue is also to identify what, exactly, the item is and how it is used. At times, such as in the case of these new objects, this involves looking deeper into their social and cultural significance and history under the TRC focus of ‘dress and identity’.

Fig. 1. Tibetan saddle rug (TRC 2025.0765a).

Boxes with part of the Turkish collection, brought in from Belgium on 8th June, ready to be catalogued and photographed from Monday 9th. Photograph by author.“Things happen at the TRC” is how someone recently described us, and I cannot disagree. Sometimes ‘things’ are expected, sometimes not at all, and an example of unexpected ‘things’ just occurred a few days ago.

Last week we got an email from a friend who referred to the Kavak Costume Collection, asking what we knew about it. The answer was simple: nothing at all. It turns out to be a private collection based in Belgium. When I checked their website I was surprised by the range of Anatolian/Turkish outfits and garments for men and women, as well as items from Armenia, Syria, Yemen, Uzbekistan, India, etc.

The collection includes individual garments, outfits, jewellery, footwear such as hand knitted socks and shoes, as well as hair ornaments. The objects range in date from the late 19th century to about 2000 and show how materials, colours, textures, as well as tastes have changed and developed over the decades.

Fig. 1. Serbian woman's waistcoat from the late 19th or early 20th century (TRC 2010.0065).At the end of March, I wrote a blog about a collection of garments from former Yugoslavia, donated by Annelies van Eijk-Kuiper and collected by her sister Jet Kuiper in the 1970s. In that blog, I explained my initial findings trying to determine the provenance of the items.

Cultural institutions, such as the TRC, often face the expectation to be experts in everything we own. One of our strengths, however, is the diversity of our collection, and Dr. Vogelsang-Eastwood has taught us that the term "expert" implies that we know everything about a topic, which is of course as unrealistic as it sounds. We certainly don't know everything, far from it!

Lots of ideas have been floating around in the TRC workroom over the last few months about how to make available more research and analysis data and materials at the TRC (as briefly discussed in an earlier blog).

One of the ideas that is being enthusiastically discussed is the making of a fibre sample collection, to help with the identification of the many types of textiles in the TRC Collection (currently at about 50,000 items from around the world). But what should we include, how to organise it and indeed, how to finance it?

Students at the TRC sorting and studying fibres for the sample collection. Photograph by author.

This TRC blog was written by Catherine Nesmith, an educator and project manager based in Canada. She holds a PhD in Geography from Cambridge University, and is currently doing a Master's degree in Museum Education at the University of British Columbia. Textiles are a passion. She attended a workshop at the TRC in February 2025.

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Textiles are an element of many museum collections. They represent the materiality of humanity and offer a window into understanding different cultures. This paper will address two areas of best practice for the effective use of textiles in museum education.

Fig. 1. A colourful panel of handmade mola embroidery depicting two birds holding a fish in their talons on a red background. Panama, late 20th century (TRC 2021.1910).

The first section argues that textiles can be an important cultural bridge and a key element in building collaboration between museums and communities, while supporting institutional decolonization goals. The second section focuses on object-based learning as a teaching pedagogy for textiles, recognizing the value of haptic learning, and the importance of incorporating reflective practice, and scaffolding. The paper concludes with a look at future directions and implications for museum education.

The TRC is starting a series of blogs with the title Collection Highlights. For this week, we are featuring a late 18th-century chintz ensemble (TRC 2007.0731a and TRC 2007.0731b). The outfit in is two parts; a bodice and a skirt. The fabric is made out of a white cloth with a block-printed and hand-painted design of flowers, leaves and butterflies in red, blue and brown.

 Skirt section of a woman's dress. The Netherlands, 18th century. Remodelled in the 1930s TRC 2007.0731a)

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The TRC has just received its first Roman fibulae! It is a gift from Sytske Wijnsma in Wormer, who has also donated in the past a large collection of books, textiles and clothing. These bronze fastenings were typically used for securing a variety of outfits and later transitioned into the more decorative brooch. Many cultures used similar fastenings, before and after the Romans. However, Roman fibulae are the most famous.

Fig. 1. Roman-period, 'trumpet'-type bronze fibula (TRC 2025.0464).A variety of shapes and decorations were used to signal various social factors, such as profession, military rank or marital status. The donation consists of three fibulae, each at first glance very similar but with a little research and a closer look during the cataloguing process I realised that they are very different from one another.

Still, all three are bronze, bow fibulae (as opposed to plate and penannular types). Note that the terminology is not standardised, and below I refer mostly to terms used in the NumisWiki website, which is a useful source regarding terminology and typology. The context of these finds is unclear, but by assigning them a particular typology and time period they are useful for archaeological references.

Fig. 1. The first fibula (TRC 2025.0464) matches descriptions of a ‘trumpet’ typology which dates to 75-175 AD, the earliest of the three. These are distinguished by their wide spring pin, high arch and flared base.