The Ethnographic Item Collection

The Ethnographic Item Collection (originally known as the Ethnographic Display) was created in 1903, when the city and mayor of Mezőkövesd gifted an entire room’s worth of furniture and Matyó clothing to the Borsod-Miskolc Museum. Kálmán Kóris added to this and by 1911, the collection already had a thousand items. In this initial establishment period the museum almost exclusively collected Matyó folk art from Mezőkövesd, Tard and Szentistván.

In the 1910s, the range of collecting expanded to Bükkalja, where Kálmán Kóris continued his documenting work combined with photography, which later turned out to be an invaluable service. Between 1908 and 1913, the collection of Palóc items from Northern-Borsod areas began with Gyula Istvánffy’s lead. During this period collecting was focused on the holiday items of represented ethnic groups with characteristic decorative art; this was in line with the general goals of general ethnographic museology at the time.

After the First World War and Trianon, Miskolc attempted to take over the role of being the regional centre from Kassa, which was separated from the country. Due to this the range of ethnographic item collection further broadened in the 1920s and 1930s, both geographically and thematically. With the lead of museum director Andor Leszih and historian Lajos Marjalaki Kiss, the collection in Borsod went on with the personal involvement of the best ethnographers’ (Zsigmond Bátky, Károly Viski and István Györffy). Tools of ancient professions (fishing and shepherding), archaic and obsolete farming items as well as decorated works of shepherd art all began to appear in the collection. The collection consisted of 3000 items in 1931, this number increased to 7000 by the 1940s.

The ethnographic collection suffered serious losses during the Second World War, based on statistical data. However, with the change of circumstances, reassembling the collection had to be done on wholly different terms. In 1950, the Borsod-Miskolc Museum became state property, and it was under central (ministry) control until 1962. Work began with the lead of the new director, renowned architect László Varga and outstanding ethnographer Alice Gaborján – their cooperation was rather short-lived (barely lasting 2 years). They are responsible for the greatest turning point in the museum’s history: in 1953, they revised the collection and reregistered it all over again, this time in a form appropriate to national museum registry standards. Traditional registry systems (inventory handbooks, card catalogues) used to this day are based on them.

Ferenc Bodgál and Árpád Lajos were two major names during the quarter century period between the 1950s and mid-1970s. Due to their tireless work, by the creation of the county museum network in 1962, the collection already had 5000 items again and it received additional 5-6 thousand items by the end of the 1960s. The range of collecting expanded: in addition to the historical Borsod County, the remaining areas of former counties Abaúj, Zemplén, Torna and Gömör were also in the museum’s scope now, until the river Hernád (areas eastward from that, such as the Bodrogköz were assigned to ethnographers working in the castle of Sárospatak at the time). The types of collected items also broadened, with simple, mundane, everyday items – last remnants of the now declining peasant culture – arriving to our storerooms for the first time. Árpád Lajos preferred collecting items related to folklore, children’s toys and musical instruments, while Ferenc Bogdál meticulously collected tools used for metallurgy and blacksmithing.

From 1963, the Herman Ottó Museum, functioning as museum centre of the county collected from the entire area of Borsod-Abaúj-Zempén County. However, a system of regional (Zemplén, Abaúj and Gömöri Museums) and folklore museums established in the 1970s and 1980s still defined the geographical boarders of collecting. The rate of growth slowed down, although from a professional point of view work was now more thorough and demands were more extensive. From 1973, ethnographer generations working under the directorship of József Szabadfalvy defined the ways of growth for the collection with their individual research interests. Márta Fügedi added many new pieces to the textile and clothing part of the collection in the 1980s and 1990s, while Gabriella Vida acquired new items for the ceramics collection. They also created storage and registry orders for them, which are exemplary to this day. Decisive and significant collection work was also conducted by Gyula Viga (domestic and kitchenware), Ernő Kunt (photo and negatives collection) and Miklós Cseri (Folk Architecture Archive) as well. At the same time, due to the organization of smaller regional and folklore museums, local and regional collecting of everyday items and tools were also common during this period.

The changes in museum funding had an effect on the growth strategy from the 1990s. Because of the tender system, museums could only arrange pre-planned, professionally prepared, however often delayed purchases and they also lacked the capital and quick reaction time of the fine art market. Therefore the acquisition of certain outstanding, representative items and related item sets were prioritized. The most significant growth of this period is characterized by the finest ceramics from Mezőcsát, belonging to the 1840-1910 period and a couple of larger textile collections.

In the past 10 years, focus has been put on craftsmen tools of the trade and the entire equipment of workshops’ as part of a long-term development strategy. Accordingly, the museum purchased shoemaker, cooper and wheelwright workshops between 2000 and 2010, many with its full equipment and furniture too. Simultaneously the acquiring of outstanding, representative folk art items (primarily Matyó textiles) is also one of the primary goals. As a recent development in that field, contemporary folk art creator’s works and reproduction copies are now also part of the collection.