The Textile Research Centre (TRC),

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, is an independent research institute working in the field of

textile Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...

s and

dress A dress (also known as a frock or a gown) is a one-piece outer garment that is worn on the torso, hangs down over the legs, and is primarily worn by women or girls. Dresses often consist of a bodice attached to a skirt. Dress shapes, silh ...

. 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 Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behaviour, wh ...

and

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

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 A () is a Dutch legal entity with limited liability, not aiming to make profit, with no members or share capital, that exists for a specific purpose that is serving a public, social or an idealistic interest. A stichting is allowed to make profit ...

'' (foundation;

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

organisation). Since then it has been involved in many aspects of the academic study of

textiles Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...

and dress, especially those from the

Near East The Near East () is a transcontinental region around the Eastern Mediterranean encompassing the historical Fertile Crescent, the Levant, Anatolia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and coastal areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The term was invented in the 20th ...

. 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 Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

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 () 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 of Västra Götaland County ...

, Sweden (1999). An exhibition with replicas of the garments found in the tomb of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh,

Tutankhamun Tutankhamun or Tutankhamen, (; ), was an Egyptian pharaoh who ruled during the late Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Eighteenth Dynasty of ancient Egypt. Born Tutankhaten, he instituted the restoration of the traditional polytheistic form of an ...

. 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