Textile Research Centre, Research institute and textile museum in Leiden, Netherlands
The Textile Research Centre is a research institute and museum in Leiden that holds about 14,000 textiles, garments, and accessories from different regions and time periods. The collection includes examples of pre-industrial cloth production techniques and is supported by an extensive library for study and reference.
The centre was founded in 1991 as part of the National Museum of Ethnology before moving to its own building in Leiden's historic district in 2009. This relocation allowed the institution to expand its collection and research activities independently.
The centre explores how textiles connect to people and cultures around the world, showing how different societies developed their own weaving and embroidery methods. Visitors can observe how these techniques appear in the objects on display and learn about their importance to the communities that made them.
Visitors can participate in workshops on spinning and embroidery or examine objects from the collection more closely. It is worth checking in advance which parts of the collection are open for visiting.
The centre has created a digital reference work on decorative needlework techniques and publishes specialized books such as an encyclopedia of Arab embroidery. These resources are particularly valuable for anyone wanting to study textile techniques in greater depth.
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