Museum Of Society Research Articles

Paintings by Eduard Lind from the Collection of the former Museum Society in Maribor

The article focuses on the origin, date, and content of the works produced by Eduard Lind (1827–1904), a Maribor-based painter of German descent, that the Museum Society Maribor (Museumsverein Marburg) acquired from the time of its founding in 1902 and until 1923. The main written source for the interpretation of the above-mentioned paintings, which are currently kept in the Maribor Regional Museum, is the inventory book of the Museum Society in Maribor (Grundbuch des Museum-Vereines in Marburg), which was used during the period under discussion. The information collected from the inventory book, the study of preserved paintings, written sources, and the survey of Maribor’s civil registers have made it possible for us to establish a link between the discussed Lind’s works and concrete people that is, male and female inhabitants of Maribor in the second half of the nineteenth century and their status in society.

A Study of the Environmental Conditions at the Egyptian Geographic Society Museum in Cairo and Their Impact on Archaeological Leather

A Study of the Environmental Conditions at the Egyptian Geographic Society Museum in Cairo and Their Impact on Archaeological Leather

Seventeenth-Century Barniz de Pasto Objects from the Collection of the Hispanic Society Museum & Library: Materiality and Technology

The Hispanic Society Museum & Library (HSML) holds a collection of nine viceregal barniz de Pasto objects, made by Indigenous artisans in the 17th and 18th centuries. Designed to imitate Asian lacquers and intended for European aesthetic tastes, barniz de Pasto is an example of Indigenous technique and knowledge that has survived to the present day. An in-depth analysis of five of these barniz de Pasto objects, dated to the first half and last quarter of the 17th century based on their iconography, was carried out through a combination of non-invasive and micro-invasive techniques, including portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) spectroscopy to investigate the possible presence of inorganic pigments, and fiber-optics reflectance spectroscopy (FORS) and reflectance imaging spectroscopy (RIS) to provide molecular information on colorants and their distributions across the objects. Dyes and pigments were also identified using Raman spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS). The nature of the resin was determined by FTIR and pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS), while the decoration stratigraphy and composition were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). This paper confirms the use of mopa mopa, the resin used in the barniz de Pasto technique, in two objects not previously analyzed, and identifies indigo, insect-based red, calomel, lead white, and an unknown flavonol-based yellow dye, and challenges the use of calomel as a temporal marker for these works. Taken together, these results expand our understanding of the material use and explorations undertaken by artists during this time period to create such elaborate and enduring objects.

Migration Museums as Spaces for Intercultural Dialogue: The Museu da Imigração de São Paulo as a Facilitator of Participatory Practices

ABSTRACT Migration museums and, in particular, the Museu da Imigração do Estado de São Paulo, represent a variant of the museum of society. By constituting a local heritage dedicated to immigration, the museum develops a participatory approach with communities of immigrant origin, highlighting its memorial character and facilitating the institution’s more inclusive identity. These museums often favour an interdisciplinary approach to the subject These new perspectives challenge museum experts’ and visitors’ own paradigms about the represented group or society. This article puts into perspective the constituent characteristics of immigration museums with those of society museums. The problematization presented in this article was done based on my doctoral thesis with a focus on museum history, archive analysis and interviews.

Vernacular museum: toward the definition of the concept

The article considers the use of the term vernacular in various fields of humanities and the effectiveness of its utilization as an additional way of describing various types of amateur museums in modern society. An analysis of published works has shown that, regardless of the disciplinary perspective, three key features of this concept stand out. The first feature implies that vernacular is associated with locality, i.e. territorial locality correlates with individual activity. The second feature is characterized through opposition to official social institutions; therefore, vernacular presupposes properties such as informality, independence, and lack of regulation. Finally, the third feature is the great importance of the creative component, due to which the global and institutional are adapted to the individual perception of the world. Museums are considered within the anthropocentric approach as grassroots initiatives aimed at representing individual interests, as well as one of the ways of self-actualization. Despite the fact that the vernacular museum is essentially an individual practice, it refers to those museum spaces in which both the personal stories of living certain events and the narrative patterns of collective memory are presented.

Методология работы с рукописями. (Из опыта подготовки к публикации материалов из архивных фондов Н.Ф. Финдейзена)

The attempts to answer the question of what made outstanding figures of culture and art keep diaries lead to the conclusion that the reason for this systematic daily work was the awareness of fulfilling their own destiny, the search for which began in childhood and resulted in the choice of the main type of activity in adulthood. Recording facts of the times in manuscripts with their initial assessment was a need of soul from youth. It is through strong (though sometimes subconscious) awareness of their path as a mission that the epoch is imprinted on their diary pages. Hence the cornerstone methodological principle in working with manuscripts: the preservation of authentic texts; without notes or improvisation, preserving all the features of the writing (up to cursive explanations). Such careful work creates the possibility of subsequent reprints — corrected and modified. And we, the people of today, are given the opportunity to evaluate historical events from a very distant time perspective. Long-term (since the beginning of the 1980s) work with the diaries of Nikolai Fedorovich Findeizen (1894– 1928) — a scientist, historian and historiographer of Russian music, the creator and permanent editor-publisher of the Russian Musical Newspaper (1894–1918), and in 1920s the organizer and head of the Musical-Historical Museum of the Academic Leningrad Philharmonic Society (now the Museum of Music in the Sheremetev Palace) — has allowed making some generalizations on the problematic aspects of the study of manuscripts by Russian musicians, which is reflected in the main section of the article.

Documentary heritage of “Lemkivshchyna” Society Museum in Archive of Historical Museum in Sanok: overview of art collection formation

Documentary heritage of “Lemkivshchyna” Society Museum in Archive of Historical Museum in Sanok: overview of art collection formation

Magic bowls preserved in the Egyptian Geographical Society Museum in Cairo.

Magic bowls preserved in the Egyptian Geographical Society Museum in Cairo.

Museums Narrating the Nation: Case Studies from Greece and Bosnia-Herzegovina

A museum that represents a community’s history and culture has the ability to influence visitors’ perceptions of that community in the present. In this paper, museums in Greece and Bosnia-Herzegovina are examined as case studies to better understand how museums narrate national identity to visitors, both domestic and international. Critical analysis of exhibits reveals that museum narratives often project the image of singular national identities. Meanwhile, they may deny the history of place of other contemporary or historic communities. In Greece, museums project a ‘Greek’ identity based on Classical, Byzantine, and post-Ottoman history. Museums in Bosnia-Herzegovina emphasize a unifying, shared history of the state’s three main ethnic communities without recognizing the profound differences felt between these communities today. These institutions encourage visitors to imagine the nation in a singular manner, without recognizing contemporary or historic diversity. Through these case studies, I interrogate the role of national museums in contemporary society, and consider the implications of transforming representational practices.

Buttered Bagels

Buttered Bagels

Аналіз сутності музейної справи сьогодні та в перспективі

The purpose of this study is to analyze the essence of museum workmanship today and in the future. Research methods include analysis, observation, comparison and generalization of data on the activities of museum institutions and enterprises, as well as scientific literature. The functions of museums are complex, given the variety of forms of their activities. Until recently, traditional forms of exhibiting were cultivated, and detailed information could be obtained during excursions. Today, the cultural and educational activities of museums have undergone significant changes: the educational and upbringing functions are realized by means of modernized educational programs, digital and factual materials, cultural and artistic events, in cooperation with educational institutions; the entertainment function is manifested in the active participation of individuals in creative workshops, clubs, recreation evenings, concerts, and in the creation of commercial structures on the territory of museums, such as restaurants, bars, and merch stalls. In other words, museums are gradually becoming part of the entertainment industry. With the advent of the media and the Internet, the role of the museum in society has been significantly transformed. Nowadays, the main functions of disseminating culture, which used to belong to museums, have been transferred to the mass media (press, television, and the Internet). At the same time, the role of museums and museum networks in the global «broadcasting» of cultural heritage is growing. Modern museums around the world have acquired this «broadcasting» function with the widespread introduction of the latest museum technologies. In the era of the information boom, an urgent problem for museums is the desire to maintain the bar of public interest, relevance, and popularity of the institution among visitors. In such realities, the very idea of a museum exhibition as something unshakable and stable in time is transformed, and a space for a virtual museum appears. Another innovation is holding presentations of public resonance in the museum. Traditional subjects of presentations for Ukrainian museums are the release of a new art catalog or album, a book by a famous scientist, a new archaeological find, an exhibit transferred to the museum, etc. The statistics of recent years, based on such indicators as the popularity of the museum among virtual and real visitors, the prestige of the museum, and public awareness of the museum’s existence and activities, have convincingly proved that in the information society, those museums that successfully compete with other institutions of the leisure industry are those that disseminate information about themselves as fully and widely as possible.

«Границы музея» как предмет профессиональной рефлексии

The review offers analysis of the scientific discussion, which was held by participants of All-Russian scientific and practical seminar, organized by the Chair of Museology and Cultural Heritage of SPb State University of Culture in February 2023. The main subject in discussion was a new definition of the notion “Museum” as adopted by 26th General Conference and incorporated in the Charter of ICOM. The said event was interpreted by the participants of the Seminar as a milestone in determination of the social and cultural mission of museum in modern society. It is also important for the development of museology, which is involved in the formation of modern cultural medium due to its scientific and educational importance. The Seminar was dedicated to 90th anniversary of the professor of culturology, Dr. V. P. Gritzkevitch. The review of the positions of the speakers was compiled based on the materials of the video recording of the seminar in order not only to record and summarize the results of its work, but also to give impetus to the professional reflection of the museum community.

Invited Essay: Archer M. Huntington's "Dream Team".

Little is known about the history of women's curatorial work in museums, particularly the work of deaf women. The contributions of Archer M. Huntington, founder of the Hispanic Society Museum and Library (HSM&L) in New York City and the women to whom he entrusted library and museum work deserve to be better known. Some of these women were deaf, and two of them, Eleanor Sherman Font and Margaret Sherman, were great-granddaughters of Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, founder of the first public school for the deaf in the United States. These women not only worked as curators but also led overseas research expeditions. Information about the deaf women who worked at HSM&L and an examination of the philosophy of the HSM&L founder provide insight into how deaf women succeeded in this unique work, and how their contributions were crucial to consolidation of the HSM&L collections.

The Role of Lajos Martin in Hungarian Academic Education in Cluj

Lajos Martin (1827–1897) was a mathematician, engineer, corresponding member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (1861), founding member of the Transylvanian Museum Society, first appointed professor at the Hungarian University of Cluj founded in 1872, one of the Hungarian pioneers of aviation, and also warden of the Evangelical church. In 2022 was commemorated the 125th anniversary of his death and also the 150th anniversary of the founding of the University of Cluj, of which he was professor, from the foundation until his death. He was also the rector of the institution in academic year 1895/96. His legacy (the floating wheel, his collection of papers containing his research and the Martin folder) was bequeathed by his children to the Transylvanian Museum Society, the institution where he gave many lectures and published the results of his research. The present study aims to present in more detail not only the part of his life revealed by his commemorative research, but also that part of his life which highlights his role in Hungarian education in Cluj, as educator and institution leader, marked by his faith in science.

THE HISTORIOGRAPHY OF THE HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM WORK IN TRANSCARPATHIA OF THE 20TH CENTURY

The article analysed the historiographical heritage of the history of museum work in Transcarpathia in the 20th century. The historical conditions of the creation and formation of the museums of Transcarpathia have been highlighted, and the museum's role as a public institution for the preservation and study of the region's cultural heritage has been revealed. The main stages of the research of the Transcarpathian Museum of the 20th century are highlighted according to the chronological principle of the pre-Soviet period (the 1920s and 1930s), the Soviet period (1945 – 1980s), and the modern Ukrainian period (since 1991). It's worth noting that the process of the historical development of museum construction in Transcarpathia is provided with sources of primary information unevenly, both quantitatively and substantively. Thus, the evidence regarding the stage of origin and formation of regional museum education is extremely limited. Only in the 20s and 30s of the 20th century, when the territory of Transcarpathia was part of the Czechoslovak Republic, the public increasingly began to show increased attention to national traditions, history, culture, and art. The first attempts to create a museum were made by public associations – T. Legotsky Museum Society (1919), Prosvita Society (1920), Regional Museum Society (1929), Society "Russian National Museum" (1930), Ethnographic Society of Subcarpathian Rus (1939). There were scientists, public figures, local historians, and members of cultural and educational societies who left their memories and dedicated their research to the museum work. However, these studies were mainly devoted to separate museums. After the establishment of Soviet power in the region, the network of museum institutions was constantly growing, as proved by the great scientific interest in this problem. In addition to descriptive works, generalizing ones also appear. The burst of interest in the problem occurred in the 1990s when Ukrainian historians got rid of the ideological limitations of Soviet historiography. The number of scientific studies in various contexts of the museum work is also increasing among Transcarpathian scientists. However, today it is possible to state the absence of a comprehensive scientific work that would consider the preconditions, stages of formation, and the first steps of developing the museum work in Transcarpathia in the 20th century. There are also no particular historiographical works or historiographical reviews of this problem.

Din istoria arheologiei Bucovinei: o scrisoare inedită de la arheologul Dionisie Olinescu către preotul Constantin Morariu

"In the Austrian Bukovina there were two private societies, with an archaeological-historical-museistic profile: the Museum Society of Siret, founded by Captain Josef von Gutter (1870–1886) and the Romanian Archaeological Society from Chernivtsi, founded and led by the amateur archaeologist Dionisie Olinescu (1886–1893). Olinescuʼs society took over an important part of the collections of the Museum Society of Siret, completed them and contributed directly to the foundation of the collections of the National Museum of Bukovina (Bukowiner Landes-Museum) in Chernivtsi (1893). The following article captures a small fragment from the life of Dionisie Olinescu, the most important Romanian archaeologist of the Austrian Bukovina, forced by unfavorable circumstances to leave the province in the year of 1893 and to take refuge in the Romanian Kingdom, where he had a quite difficult career trajectory. The letter in question contains some novel elements regarding Dionisie Olinescuʼs biography and family and his activity after 1893. The letter brings, at the same time, a modest contribution to the historiography of the archaeology of Bukovina. "

Revisiting the type of Cyrtopodion aravallense (Gill, 1997): redescription of the species with comments on the genus.

Cyrtopodion aravallense (Gill, 1997) is a poorly known species, known only from the holotype and original description. I re-examined the holotype housed in the museum of Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai and find some discrepancies between the original description and the holotype. Here, I redescribe the holotype of C. aravallense in greater detail and provide a revised diagnosis of the species. It is distinguished from all its congeners in having enlarged, regularly arranged transverse rows of 15 trihedral tubercles; 2526 midbody scale rows across belly; 102 midventral scales; males with 6 precloacal pores, 78 femoral pores on each side separated by 35 poreless scales between precloacal and femoral pores.

Collecting the Globe: The Salem East India Marine Society Museum

The East India Marine Society Museum, with holdings that are now part of today's Peabody Essex Museum of Salem, Massachusetts, was one of the first systemically cataloged and curated collections in the antebellum United States. More than a cabinet of curiosities or collation of sailors' souvenirs, though there were elements of both in the museum, this pioneering institution encompassed maritime history and natural history, as well as the arts and cultures of Asia. Founded in 1799, the museum curated an image of Salem and the nascent nation as growing players in global trade networks—an image constructed along lines of racial hierarchy delineating the “civilized” and “uncivilized” worlds. George H. Schwartz, an associate curator at the Peabody Essex Museum, has drawn on the institution's rich archival and artifactual resources to paint a detailed portrait of the society across the seventy years of its existence as an independent collection. In its first three chapters, the books offers a comprehensive chronology of how the society acquired its holdings as it encouraged members to bring back natural history and ethnological specimens from their far-flung trading voyages across the globe. The fourth chapter focuses on exhibitions and displays mainly by recounting the construction of East India Marine Hall and the terms of successive curators of the collections. The fifth and final chapter examines visitor experiences by reading comments in guest books, as well as travelers' and journalists' accounts of the museum.

MODERN TRENDS IN THE FORMATION OF MULTIFUNCTIONAL MUSEUMS

The article discusses the historical background and progressive processes of universalization and expansion of exclusively museum functions and the transformation of museums into a hub, similar to a transport hub that combines objects of different functions.
 According to the World Council of Museums (ICOM), there are more than 55 thousand museums in the world. The leaders among them are art museums – the Louvre (Paris, France), the Metropolitan (New York, USA) and the British Museum (London, UK).
 Ukrainian museums also have great cultural potential and are among the top ten countries in Europe in terms of the number of works of art available. At the same time, more than 90% of the cultural and creative artistic component of Ukraine is without the possibility of use and exposure.
 It has been revealed that a modern museum should strive for development, not be afraid to go beyond the existing museum space, and also expand its functional scope through the use of a modern architectural and planning organization with flexible structures.
 Consistently considering the features of the functioning of museums in different historical periods, it was revealed that the dependence of strategies for relating to the past has changed the perception of a museum object and museum structure. Accordingly, the typology of museum spaces was made or destroyed.
 So, it is determined that starting from the 70s of the XX century. there was a rethinking of the approaches to the formation of the space of museums, which contributed to the solution of social and communication problems and the transformation of the role of museums in society.
 The given examples from domestic and foreign experience in designing, building, operating museums refer to the continuous process of architectural creativity.

Contributors

Contributors