The Collection counts over 4,000 objects dating from the high Middle Ages to the present.

The core of the collection consists of objects from everyday life that are directly or indirectly linked to the activities of the social and political elites of the nineteenth and twentieth century , and which by their purpose and symbolism testify to the major events of the Croatian past.

The Collection’s diversity is reflected in the types of materials (objects made of wood, metal, ceramic and glass) and the functionality of these objects, whereby several sub-groups may be discerned: commemorative objects, objects tied to traditional arts and crafts, furniture, timepieces and measuring instruments, household wares and implements, various items of apparel (with the attire and jewellery of the nobility forming an additional sub-group) and objects of personal use, such as fashion accessories and toiletries, smoking accessories and other objects from everyday life . Among them, items that formerly belonged to distinguished individuals and aristocratic families and those with artistic value are particularly valuable. Most made their way to the Museum in the form of familial bequests.

The most noteworthy of these bequests in terms of their distinguished origin and size are those from the family of Ban Josip Jelačić and Ban Ivan Mažuranić, while there are somewhat fewer objects tied to notable personalities and aristocratic families who left their mark on political, cultural and economic life in Croatia in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, such as national revivalist Ljudevit Gaj, Bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer, Ban Levin Rauch, politician Stjepan Radić, opera singer Milka Trnina and others.

Collection curator

Andreja Smetko, senior curator