In 2016, there was more linen damask on display in the beautiful rural museum in Bleskensgraaf than in all the other major Dutch museums put together. There were laid tables representing every layer of society: from a cotton cloth to white Sunday-best damask tablecloths, including simple tablecloths with a block design for the servants, who – like their masters – did not eat at a bare wooden table.
This exhibition was all the more special because the linen was not displayed behind glass, but visitors could unfold it, feel it and touch it, even the 17th-century napkins.
Sanny de Zoete was guest curator, and many pieces came from her private collection, combined with the linen owned by the museum.
Museum Binnenwaard, Bleskensgraaf, www.binnenwaard.nl September 2016 – February 2017
