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Material Culture Section

Material Culture Section encompasses the following systematic collections:

  • Traditional costumes (ensembles) 
  • Traditional costumes (individual garments)
  • Textile furniture
  • Textile processing utensils
  • Traditional modes of production
  • Urban furniture
  • Rural furniture
  • Pottery
  • Traditional crafts
  • Models of traditional buildings
  • Weapons
  • Jewellery
  • Toys
  • Personal items

The inventory book contains 17,450 inventory units, including 288 costume ensembles.

Exhibition The Life and Culture of the Urban Populace in 19th Century Bosnia and Herzegovina is located on the upper level of the Ethnology Pavilion. Visitors can experience domestic scenes of bygone eras in the six authentic rooms displayed here.

The ground floor houses scale-model dioramas of historical industries and communities: water wheel-powered trip hammer smithy; tannery; fulling mill (textiles); mine and village in the town of Vareš; stilt-house community near Bosanska Gradiška.

Temporary exhibitions are organised on the ground floor from time to time on a variety of themes.

Staff: 
Lebiba Džeko, MSc
Ethnologist specialising in urban and rural crafts
Museum advisor
Samir Avdić
Head of Department
Ethnologist specializing in traditional crafts, trades and transport
Department of Ethnology, Material Culture,Mowing kit, whetstone holder

Whetstone Holder

A whetstone holder is a grooved piece of wood which mowers filled with water and carried on their waist-belts. It was made of walnut with the use of different carving techniques: cutting, grooving, incrusting and pricking.

Department for ethnology, Material Culture, Collection of house textiles, Mat

Mat

The mat is made of home-made wool on vertical or horizontal weaving loom, using techniques of finger interlacing andpre-weaving. These techniques were used by Bosnian and Herzegovinian women in handiwork,home or in workshop activity.

Department for Ethnology, Material culture, Traditional crafts, The scales

The scales

In the rich collection of urban and rural craftsmanship in the Department of Ethnology the objects of kujundžijski (metal-handling) craft are kept. Part of the collection are the scales used for weighing precious metals and gems.

Deparment for Ethnology, Material Culture, Collection of house textiles,Embroidered kerchief – jagluk

Embroidered kerchief – jagluk

The kerchief is made of a thinner „bez sadeluk”, white cotton fabric, with sumptuous motifs on its edges. Three vegetal motifs, leaves or flowers, are embroidered on each end with cyclamen red and pale green silk, bound with brown thread.

Odjeljenje za etnologiju, narodna nošnja, kapa s tepelukom

Woman’s cap with tepeluk plate

This woman’s headpiece is made up of several parts. Each part was made by a different artisan, and they were finally put together by a milliner specialising in fezzes and women’s headwear.