A gyűjtemény leírása
The Museum of Ethnography's Fishing Collection contains tools used in fishing in rural Hungary from the end of the 19th until the beginning of the 20th century. Both the concept behind the collection and the acquisition of its core material are associated with the publication of a monograph on fishing practices written by Ottó Herman in 1887.
During the first half of the 20th century, fishing was seen as one of the most significant themes in the field of ethnography in Hungary, a circumstance reflected in the quality of the collection. Of groups of objects in the collection, the most numerous consist of harpoons and harpoon accessories (cutting hooks) and of nets and traps, such as cribs, tunnel nets, stake nets and drag nets. The collection also contains a significant number of smaller nets, such as the kece, square net, and landing net. Of the groups of artefacts related to fishing with lines and hooks, the most numerous are those of rods, hooks, bobbers, and sinkers. Items in the collection classified as fishing accessories include net making needles, containers, ice cleats, and ice-breaking axes.
Plans for the future of the collection include research of current fishing practices, particularly because of the recent discovery of fishing methods long thought to have fallen out of use in various areas of the country and especially around Lake Balaton. These methods include harpoon fishing, the use of castnets, and the production of elaborate fishing weirs, traps, and snares.
The curator of the collection is Dr. Magdolna Szabó.