Egyptian appliqué at Textile Research Centre, Leiden

The Textile Research Centre (TRC), Leiden, Netherlands, is an independent research institute working in the field of textiles and dress. 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 (as of 2020) is Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood, a textile and dress historian.

Aims

The TRC has the stated aim of teaching textile crafts and encouraging research into anthropological and

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

textiles and clothing in the widest sense of the word. In particular, the TRC specialises in dress - what people wear in order to express their identity - and pre-industrial textile technology.

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 Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

and dress, especially those from the

Near East The ''Near East''; he, המזרח הקרוב; arc, ܕܢܚܐ ܩܪܒ; fa, خاور نزدیک, Xāvar-e nazdik; tr, Yakın Doğu is a geographical term which roughly encompasses a transcontinental region in Western Asia, that was once the hist ...

. In 1997 the TRC started building up a textile and dress collection. By late-2022 the collection had grown to over 40,000 textiles, garments and accessories from all over the world. 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 (Hogewoerd 164). It now organises a series of exhibitions, lectures, workshops and training courses for students and others who are interested. 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''.

Publications

* ''Encyclopedia of Embroidery from the Arab World'' (London: Bloomsbury 2016). * ''Encyclopedia of Embroidery from Central Asia, the Iranian Plateau, and the Indian Subcontinent'' (London: Bloomsbury 2021).

Exhibitions

* ''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 of Borås The Textile Museum of Borås ( sv, Textilmuseet i Borås) is a museum of textile history in Borås, Sweden. History Historically a textile and fashion industry was centered at Borås and the area of Sjuhäradsbygden in southern Västergötland ...

, Sweden (1999). An exhibition with replicas of the garments found in the tomb of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh, Tutankhamun. This exhibition travelled to Britain, Denmark, Egypt, the Netherlands, Poland and the United States, and 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

External links