A gyűjtemény leírása
The Transportation Collection, officially called the Collection on Transportation, Carriage, Communications, and Signalling, occupies a unique place among the artefacts of the Museum of Ethnography. The objects of material culture falling into these categories frequently reflect multiple aspects of the human condition and span the full range of human lifestyles.
The most valuable artefacts in the collection are its leather and wooden saddles, mostly of peasant origin but including some richly decorated bone inlay pieces probably used by the upper levels of society. A significant proportion of the collection is dedicated to harnesses and other pieces of saddlery, such as buckles, bits, and stirrups.
Occupying a prominent place in the collection are the museum's "coaches". Half cart, half carriage, this familiar four-wheeled vehicle of Hungarian invention derives its name from the Hungarian town of Kocs. Half of the pieces in the collection (6 vehicles) are fashioned using wooden axles. The trappings of beasts of burden, including harnesses and single and double yokes, are also present in significant numbers. In contrast, the museum's collection of sledges, cutters, and sleighs leaves considerable room for improvement. In general, future work on the collection must concentrate on the following broad thematic areas:
1. Roadways
2. Personal transport
3. Transport of loads by humans
4. Packs and bundles
5. Vehicles with runners
6. Vehicles with wheels
7. Water vehicles
the material for which has yet to be collected, stored, and scientifically studied.
The curator of the collection is György Máté.