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Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood, 10 March 2024

A gentle day (9th March) in London visiting some very different venues! As part of looking at exhibitions and other displays, Willem and I went to three venues today. The first was St. Paul’s Cathedral, the second Apsley House, the stately home of the Duke of Wellington who defeated Napoleon in 1815, and the third was the King's Gallery (the former Queen’s Gallery), Buckingham Palace.

Statue of Mountstuart Elphinstone, in the crypt of St. Paul's, London. Photograph Willem Vogelsang.On the ground floor, the grand cathedral of St. Paul’s has become a commercial institute with a couple of small chapels for those who want to pray, but visitors have to pay for the honour of being there, and it feels like it. But there are some interesting items, such as the very grand and elaborate memorial to the Duke of Wellington!

However, going down into the Crypt is stepping into British history, as there are the graves and memorials to Sir Christopher Wren, Sir Isaac Newton, Florence Nightingale, Montgomery of El Alamein as well as many artists and poets including Blake, Millais and Turner. The 18th century memorials are subdued, the 19th century ones are not.

Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood, 9 March 2024

La Carmencita, by John Singer Sargent (1890), Musée d'Orsay, Paris.Willem and I are in London at the moment to pick up TRC items lent to the Museum of Fashion from their exhibition called “The Fabric of Democracy”, which was curated by Amber Butchart. We decided also to visit several exhibitions in different venues in London, to see various specific items and get new ideas and inspiration.

Over the years we have seen good exhibitions, bad exhibitions, and some that reminded us of the ‘Emperor’s new clothes’ (i.e. there was nothing there, literally). So on Friday afternoon we went with great curiosity to Tate Britain to see their new exhibition Sargent and Fashion (with paintings by the American artist John Singer Sargent, 1856-1925).

The exhibition was slated in a review in the Guardian (20 February) by Jonathan Jones as being “A horrible exhibition” (in his first sentence). “Sargent’s gloriously rich and subtle paintings can’t be reduced to dreary facts about hats, dresses and opera gowns. Sadly, that’s just what’s happened” Jones seems to have disliked the paintings being displayed together with the garments actually worn by the people being portrayed. It appears to have distracted him from Art.

Augusta de Gunzbourg, TRC, 2 March 2024

What did Chinese emperors, empresses and their court wear at the turn of the 20th century, and what did other people wear at that time? The TRC will soon (28 March !) be opening an exhibition on the theme of clothing that was worn during the last imperial dynasty of China, namely the Qing dynasty (1644–1911).

Early 20th century Manchu Chinese embroidered gown (TRC 2023.2130).

Afghan jacket, made by a local tailor for May Schinasi, a Western woman living in Kabul, Afghanistan, 1960s-1970s (TRC 2024.0246).Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood, 23 February 2024

The three A’s (adopt, adapt, acknowledge) are an important aspect of the TRC, namely how people see, adopt and adapt clothing forms, techniques, patterns and so on, from other cultures and societies.

I have written on this subject before in a separate blog.

Adopting and adapting textile and garment aspects is a process that has been going on for thousands of years throughout the world, going north, south, east and west!

Ann Cable, 6 February 2024.

I was recently helping a friend downsize and this involved sorting many textiles which she would donate to the TRC. One of these was a smocked child’s dress, made in Indonesia for her daughter in around 1973 (TRC 2023.1894). Smocking is a technique whereby a series of pleats are made that are fastened together with embroidery stitches. This was a popular way to create a slightly stretchy garment, before the invention of elastic.

Copy of Weldon's Practical Smocking magazine (no. 19, vol. 2; July 1887) with a wide range of patterns, stitches and ideas (TRC 2024.0356).

Amulet case, Teke Turkmen, Afghanistan, mid-20th century (TRC 2024.0352).Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood, 4 February 2024

Over the last few years, Willem and I have regularly been travelling to Nice in southern France to talk with May and Rolando Schinasi, a lovely elderly couple with a fascinating history. He is an Italian born in Egypt before the Second World War (he remembers the battle of El Alamein!), she is French and they met in Kabul, Afghanistan in the 1960s. This was before the Hippy Trail and there were very few foreigners visiting Afghanistan, let alone living there. They left the country after the Russian invasion at Christmas 1979.

The Schinasi’s and Willem have spent many years in Afghanistan, albeit at different times, and love the country as it used to be and its ancient historical roots.

Because of this bond the TRC had already become the home to part of May and Rolando's Afghan and Uzbek clothing and textile collection and the inspiration behind an exhibition of Afghan dress held at the TRC in 2010-2011 (still to be seen in the form of an online exhibition).

Our latest visit to see May and Ronaldo, late January, was a little fraught, as we were caught up in the ripples of the French farmers' closure of many main roads, as well as that of Belgian farmers' actions around Brussels.

The car trip took twice as much time as normal. Coming back was even longer and more complex, driving at night along provincial routes, but we have seen, albeit in the dark, some medieval towns in France we would never have visited otherwise!

Just before 11:00, a group from Stichting Güney and the Women's Committee of ISN Mimar Sinan, Leiden, including its director Fikrye Sen, arrived to spend the next two hours transforming the workspace of the TRC along the Hogewoerd in Leiden into a Henna Party venue. 

Display of garments and other textiles traditionally presented at a Henna Night, at the TRC on Sunday 28th January 2024.

Thanks to their efforts, the guests at TRC Leiden had an unforgettable experience. The guests included other members of the Turkish women’s committee, members of other cultural institutions and women from Huis van de Buurt Morschwijck and frequent TRC visitors and volunteers.

Portrait of a lady in an interior, by Willem van Mieris (Leiden, 1662-1747) and dating to 1694. The painting is in the Leiden Collection, New York.First and foremost, may 2024 be a peaceful year! After opening on Monday 15th, the first week back at the TRC has been very stimulating. A quick survey of some of the events and activities will give you a better idea of what can happen at the TRC!

We recently announced the Turkish henna party being held by the Leiden-based Stichting Güney at the TRC on Sunday, the 28th January. Its going to be a busy event as already over 40 people have registered to attend! 

On a totally different subject: The Leiden Collection, New York, contacted us about the identification of lace in 17th century Dutch paintings, in particular the portrait of a lady in an interior by the Leiden painter, Willem van Mieris (1662-1747) and dating to 1694.

The Leiden painter, Willem van Mieris, 1662-1747, portrayed by his son, Frans van Mieris. Private collection.One of my colleagues, bobbin lace teacher, Gon Homburg, was able to identify the lace as that of Venetian Gros Point, also known as Venetian Raised Needle Lace (or possibly an imitation), a form of needle lace very popular among the 17th and 18th century elite in western Europe. It’s really interesting being able to add more details to paintings, about textiles and accessories, and seeing lace being used both as an object (decoration of a sleeve cuff) and as a symbol (status and wealth). It was also nice to emphasise the Leiden connection.