Museum of Embroidery in Rotterdam as an expression of identity

The exhibition, called Threads Instead of Words, proposes a journey through embroidery, as a way of decorating fabrics with the help of, above all, needle and thread, a task traditionally associated with women at home, according to the Wereldmuseum website of the art gallery

The Universal Museum in Rotterdam is bringing together nearly 200 pieces from its embroidery collection for the first time and traces the journey through the different stages of the technique, which uses 10 basic stitches and builds on all others.

The authors of this handcraft are usually anonymous, and sometimes subject to cultural misappropriation in the fashion industry.

The source pointed out that embroidery is also in the Dutch city a tradition that is transmitted between generations, a historical document, and a language that transcends daily life and captures traumatic events, such as the suffering experienced during the Second World War.

The oldest ornament preserved in Rotterdam comes from the tomb of Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun, who died around 1323 BC, while the oldest foundation piece is from Peru, dating between 1000 and 1400 CE.

The ancient Greeks and Romans already embroidered with gold thread, as did the Vikings, the Chinese and the Japanese.

According to research by Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood, of the World Encyclopedia of Embroidery, Bloomsbury, London, there are 10 basic stitches to needlework and are repeated all over the world.

Chain, gusset fill, split, cross, back, leg, also hem, herringbone, knot (French), scallop, Vogelsang-Eastwood said.

Over the years, the variations have been combined to create highly creative and handmade shapes, perhaps comparable to musical notes, with a specific number and all its possibilities, as noted by the Wereldmuseum’s curator of popular culture and fashion, Daan van Dartel.

It is a garment also used in Mesoamerica and the museum has the best collection of its kind outside of Mexico, we must add the use arranged by the painter Frida Kahlo with Tijuana embroidery.

The women of that region were presented as symbols of strength during the revolution, as the Dutch conservative explained, and in her view, Kahlo wore them not only to claim indigenous culture, but to present herself as a feminist.

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