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ABOUT THE MUSEUM ::: |
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History
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| A significant systematic collecting was carried out because of taking part in the All-Slavic Exhibition, held in Moscow in 1867. Although all collected items stayed in Moscow, the exhibition was important since in Serbia, and in the whole Balkans, it initiated systematic collecting of ethnographic items and ethnologic research of the region. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 The First Building of Ethnographic Museum, a gift of Stevča Mihailović |
In 1872, Serbian Learned Society (Srpsko učeno društvo) made a concrete suggestion for founding of a museum that would cherish ethnographic items. In the same year Stojan Novaković submitted Suggestion and Draft for establishing Serbian Museum of History and Ethnography and the efforts for establishing a separate ethnographic museum started. The idea of forming such a museum was realized in February of 1901. Te ethnographic collection from the National Museum was moved into a separate building, gift by Stevča Mihailović (a trader from the town of Jagodina), and this year is considered to be the year of founding. |
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 Stojan Novaković |
In its first days after founding, Ethnographic Museum owned 909 ethnographic items, 32 books, few photographs and a very valuable album of water colours and drawing of folk costume by Nikola Arsenijević. The first manager was appointed to be Sima Trojanović. He immediately began a large-scale collecting and in 1904 Museum fund had some 8.500 items. The gathered items were from the whole territory of Balkans and they belonged not only to Serbian traditional culture but also to other ethnic groups of the region. Ethnologic research and field collection of items started in 1902. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Stevča Mihailović ( a trader from the town of Jagodina) |
The first permanent exhibition of Ethnographic Museum was opened on September 20, 1904 and since then museum curators have constantly been collecting ethnographic items; therefore, Museum fund is continually growing. During the First and the Second World Wars Ethnographic Museum lost a large number of items, which perished in military operations. Thanks to maintenance of traditional way of living in the Balkans after the First World War the enlargement of Museum fund was continued, and in 1926, the Museum started publishing Glasnik Etnografskog muzeja (Bulletin of Ethnographic Museum) that has regularly been issued to the present. The end of the Second World War was marked by initiation of systematic research of ethnologic branches and accomplishment of many separate studies. At the same time systematic and scientifically based conservation of items started. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 The first manager, Sima Trojanović |
Up to now Ethnographic Museum had eight permanent exhibitions and held some 300 occasional displays. Permanent exhibition is on three levels. Today, Museum cherishes a large number of ethnographic items, organized into separate collections (household items, jewellery, customs, folk costume, national architecture, economy, cattle breeding, transport, rite items etc.). It has one of the richest specialized libraries in the Balkans and it publishes its professional publications. Museum possesses conservation service that can treat all sorts of materials, a huge display premises and it organizes large-scale ethnographic researches… and it has willingness and knowledge to explore ethnologically and anthropologically even the 21st century. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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