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The Ceramics Collection in the Museum of Ethnography contains around 2300 faience objects, of which 60 are classical Haban vessels and at least 1500 are Late Haban pieces. There are examples of transition between Haban style periods and exceptions that make this collection unique, compared to other collections of Haban objects. The largest collection in Hungary of Late Haban objects is also found here. The study presents the most interesting pieces, how the larger groups entered the collection, and the different object groups. It describes 45 archaeological finds unearthed on the sites of three Haban settlements, that provide valuable information on the technique used to make them. Based on the ornamentations on a Haban product from 1732 we can date and identify two types from Nagylévárd (now Veľké Leváre, Slovakia): one with coloured painting and the other one with blue ornamentation on a white ground). The study calls for a debate on ceramics history to clarify questions related to both Haban and lead-glazed pottery produced in a micro-region by the German-speaking people living in the mining towns in the first half of the 18th century. Late Haban ware was popular throughout the entire territory of Hungary in the 18th to 19th centuries. Examples have been found in almost all micro-regions.
Plans and concepts
Opportunities and challenges associated with the new building of the museum of ethnography
Founded in 1872, the Budapest Museum of Ethnography is an institution that is simultaneously national and international in scope, focusing on phenomena both historical, and contemporary. The museum boasts a collection of national ethnographic material of outstanding value, as well as collections of ceramics, textiles, and clothing that are among the largest of their type on the continent. Though the significance of the museum’s various social and scientific pursuits is beyond dispute, the institution has never operated within a facility constructed with its essential functionality and particular needs and requirements in mind. Currently underway, however, is a project that will put into place the conditions required for effecting the very necessary relocation of the museum to the Budapest City Park. Planning and preparatory work on the project were begun more than three years ago, in parallel with the development of the concept for the new facility. The present study summarizes the most important elements of that concept and discusses the specifics of the winning design.
This work is based on the museological classification of the saddle collection of the Museum of Ethnography in Budapest. The collection consists of cca 150 saddles, two-thirds of which comes from Hungarian speaking areas, one third from Northern Africa, Asia and Finland. The author describes the development of saddles and their different types by analysing the objects and professional literature. Making and ornamenting saddles, harnesses and equipments of the saddles for different purposes are described here. The most famous Hungarian saddle making centre and the most widespread Hungarian type, the Tiszafüred type are highlighted. Cultural history of this Eastern heritage from the ancient history of Hungarians upto the present is presented. It also refers to the significant traditions of Hungarian riding culture (Hungarian hussar) and to the new areas and possibilities of current saddle usage (sport, turism, recreation).
Ethnographic research that focused mainly on agrarian groups living at the lower level of society did not really seek or find a handle to approach Jewish culture in the late 19th and early 20th century. At the same time, for its part, the Hungarian Jewry made no effort to deal with its own culture from the viewpoint of ethnography. Although ethnographic and anthropological research has been conducted since then, and important results have been achieved, it cannot be claimed that the subject has been exhausted. That is why the Ethnography Museum’s exhibition Picking up the Pieces: Fragments of Rural Hungarian Jewish Culture was an important, unique and timely opportunity for both experts and audience. The exhibition aimed to conjure up an image of rural Hungarian Jewish life before the Holocaust based the materials in the museum. For the first time, the exhibition presented the Museum’s small but important collection of Judaica, Jewish implements, objects that entered the collection through art dealers and private collectors, not to mention the rich photographic material. In addition, local “case studies” were utilized to grasp the distinctive culture of the everyday life of the Jewish population, their position within the majority society, and the possible paths (mazes) of modernity. Various issues were discussed, not in general but through concrete examples (family histories, specific communities, local characteristics, etc.), and in this spirit, several specific themes were presented, such as weekdays and festive days, various situations, occupations and social strata. In the second part of the study, special mention is made of a few highlighted objects from the exhibition through the eyes of visiting American students.
Károly Viski (Torda, 1882-Budapest, 1945) was an outstanding figure in European ethnology in the years between 1920–1945. He was born in Transylvania and trained as a secondary school teacher of Hungarian and Latin at the university of Kolozsvár. As a young teacher he taught in schools in Transylvanian towns and did research on the history of the Hungarian language and dialectology. In 1920 he joined the staff of the Museum of Ethnography in Budapest and became an expert in decorative arts, material culture and European ethnology. His book on the folk art of Transylvania written in the early 1920s was published in many languages. He played a role in the choice of a European, Scandinavian orientation for Hungarian ethnology and in strengthening ties with Sweden, Finland, Estonia and Poland. He was the spiritus rector and editor of the big four-volume synthesis published in the 1930s which presented traditional Hungarian material culture and folklore in a broad European context. He devoted special attention to research on the cultural heritage of the peoples of Transylvania, the co-existence of the Hungarian, German and Romanian ethnic groups and the history of cultural exchange processes. He did a great deal for museums, collections and exhibitions of ethnography. Between 1940–45 as professor at the university of Kolozsvár and later of Budapest he trained a whole series of outstanding students (e.g. Károly Kós, János Kodolányi, Ágnes Kovács, Mária Kresz, Károly Gaál, László Vajda).
The case study presents certain aspects of modernization and cultural changes in a small Nahua Indian village in Mexico. It investigates the local cargo system and its religious background; analyses the emergence of protestant denominations and its impact on the cargo system. Debates about locality, inclusion and exclusion, and the symbolic borders of the community are also discussed. The study is based on fieldwork conducted in the Huasteca hidalguense during the period 1996 and 2002.
Ethnic identities are socially defined cultural contracts. Reworkings take place according to historic changes as well as in specific social situations. To speak about identity of 'X'-s and of 'Y'-s is a complex issue mainly in diasporic contexts where a uniform or homogeneous identity of the specific ethnic categories and groups is hardly accepted. In spite of this, in public discourse it is common to speak about the identity of Hungarian-Americans for instance. Based on historical and contemporary investigations of Hungarian immigrants and their descendants in the United States the paper analyses the complexity of ethnic identities. It does so in particular by raising the problem of ethnic identity from two directions: on the one hand, taking into account the differing situation of those who emigrated and of their descendants and, on the other hand, on the basis of theoretical considerations. Variants of ethnic self and group identification is related to historical flows of immigrants, size and composition of population concerned as well as to power relations.
The basic structure in the Jewish awareness of time - just as in other cultures - is the succession of weekdays and the various cycles formed on the basis of natural phenomena. This dimension of time is embodied in the contents of the Jewish feast. Only traces of the Jewish view of time can be found in their awareness. “Man's time” is, in fact, his fate which is at the same time also the subject and aim of the theological interpretation of time. The nature of Jewish time and its practice of handling time in different periods faithfully reflect the processes of change in the different Jewish societies.
Drawing on immigrant press sources and church publications, the paper describes and analyses the saint's day festivals of Hungarians who inmigrated to the United States. It traces customs related to pilgrimages from the end of the 19th century to WWII. The primary goal in retaining or reviving this tradition was to preserve religious continuity, boost national awareness, win the recognition of American society and create ethnic identity above group affiliations. Also, the church festivals held by Hungarians in the United States played partly the same role as the practice in the home country: the religious function predominated, followed by the opportunity to get together and the intention of strengthening cohesion of the community. However, it gradually lost the character of a continuation of old-world experience while it gained new symbolic meanings.
the Museum of Ethnography (Néprajzi Múzeum). An address about the need to set up a Museum of Ethnography was delivered at the very first assembly of the Hungarian Ethnographic Society in 1889. As Antal Herrmann, secretary of the society said: “In order
