Independent research institute working in the field of textiles and dress
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 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 and dress, especially those from the Near East.
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".
References.
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