Historical Collections
The carved wooden statue of Černý Janek (Black Johnny) from the Town Hall tower commemorating the siege of the town by Hungarian rebels, the kuruc, in 1704 (see also the Tale of Black Johnny).
A model showing Uherský Brod as it looked between 1643 and 1660, and paintings by local artist Josef Kočica on which he captured historical views of the town and extinct buildings, give us a sense of the past life of the town and its citizens. Their past is well represented by the guild and municipal furniture, of which the most interesting are guild coffers of town stonemasons from 1670 and the Town Hall iron chest from the 18th century, with a complex locking mechanism.
Militaria
A remarkable piece of craftsmanship – a19th-century rifle rack, with several specimens of hunting and sporting weapons of that period – shows how popular and highly regarded hunting used to be.
As for other exhibits, there are also containers for ammunition dating back to that period, including leather bags for shot and gunpowder horns. The Museum also preserves a banner and painted shooting target of a sharpshooter association established in 1875. 19th-century short guns are represented by pistols with percussion locks and flintlocks.
One of the latest periods covered by the collection of militaria is the time of the reign of Emperor Francis Joseph I (1848–1916) and his successor, Charles I (1916–1918). Among other artefacts, the Museum exhibits cool weapons – ceremonial sabres and swords of Austro-Hungarian officers and officials. Another object of interest is an iron mortar donated by the Town Council, which used to be fired on the occasion of the Feast of Corpus Christi.
Pewter
Those dating from the 18th century are mainly the engraved bowls, plates, jugs, kettles, and candlesticks. Unless they bear a sign of the manufacturer, only their outer shape and surface decoration suggest the period of their origination. 19th-century small utility objects are already signed, hence we know their place of origin – Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad), Jihlava (Iglau), Slavkov (Austerlitz), Prague... Only a few artefacts lack a manufacturer’s sign or any sign at all.
The exhibited aspersorium and tankard are especially fascinating due to their artistic treatment. With the development of industry, pewter was coming out of use in the 19th century, being replaced by cheaper alloys of various types. The said period is represented by a historicist inkwell with a candlestick and teapots with wooden handles.
Burgher Household
Textiles are represented by a tulle shawl, fringed cashmere scarf, mantilla of black tulle, and silk apron.
As for haberdashery accessories, the collection comprises horn combs, dress clips, ladies’ hat pins made of metal and glass, women’s eyeglasses – so-called lorgnons, etc.
Another interesting collection is that of trinkets that ladies used to make of hair in the first half of the 19th century. A ladies’ little album comes from the same period.
Objects related to fancywork are represented by numerous artefacts, e.g. ivory boxes for needles or a richly decorated sewing box. The sewing tools were used in making embroidery samplers, purse bags (so-called Pompadour purses), cigar cases etc.
Coloured beads were used to embellish embroidery work.
Writing tools are represented by a ladies′ small inkwell made of porcelain and brass sealers.
One of medical instruments that were used in bourgeois households of the 19th century is an (incomplete) mechanical device for bloodletting in a leather pouch.
The drawing room was usually furnished with comfortable upholstered furniture that was covered with protective covers when the parlour was not being used. The room was dominated by a large glass-fronted cabinet with mirrors, a so-called glasshouse, in which the family exhibited the best pieces of their glassware, porcelain, and silver, depending on their social status.
A sofa with arms and an armchair stood at a table, while several chairs were usually lined along walls.
Portraits of ancestors, of which the middle-class society was particularly proud, hung above a small table with a columnar clock.
The lighting was provided by candles lit in a richly decorated retractable chandelier made of metal; more expensive ones were decorated with hand-painted ceramic pieces.
With the advent of electricity during the late 1800s, kerosene lamps disappeared and candles were replaced with light bulbs.
No middle-class drawing room could operate without a musical instrument, usually a piano, which the lady of the house used to play at social events. The Edison phonograph appears as a stunning novelty at the end of the 19th century, only to be replaced in the early 1900s by a turntable record player with an ornately decorated box and a large trumpet horn.
Museum′s Ethnographic Collections
The pottery workshop with finished and semi-finished ceramics shows the livelihood of the rural population of the district of Uherský Brod. Various tools and instruments used by the villagers in their fields and workshops (rakes, pitchforks, flails, grating stools, churns etc.) help us understand the then agricultural work and craftsmanship. Besides these artefacts, there is also a collection of historic folk costume sets and accessories (male costume from Vlčnov, female mourning garb from Nivnice, costumes of a wedding couple from Strání, and children′s clothing), costume scarves, postpartum cloths and churching veils, shoes and belts for folk costumes.
The complete furniture of a village sitting room from the turn of the 20th century gives a picture of the everyday life in local villages. The folk art collection consists mainly of paintings with folk motifs, pictures painted on glass, folk sculptures and wooden carvings, and last but not least, homemade musical instruments.
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