Jacket

Ködmöns, short sheepskin jackets with sleeves, were worn throughout the Hungarian-speaking regions, and many areas developed their own stylistic features. This example is embellished with beet-red and green kidskin appliqué and red, blue, and green floss embroidery. Its long fleece interior provided warmth, while the turned-back hem at the front and ruffled peplum at the back made this type of ködmön especially suitable for horseback riding. [1]

Stewart Culin (1858–1929) was the Brooklyn Museum’s first Curator of Ethnology from 1903 to 1929. He built the collection of its new department by conducting expeditions across the Americas, Asia, and Europe. Between 1920 and 1923, he collected Central and Eastern European costumes in what are now Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Croatia, among other neighboring countries.

Culin collected folk art objects with particular interest in their socio-cultural and historic significance. Through meticulous record keeping of field notes, correspondence, chapbooks, and clippings, he sought to document the cultural life of the region and the circumstances of each acquisition. These materials are now held in the Culin Archival Collection at the Brooklyn Museum Archives.

Culin was traveling in Central Europe in 1921 as the Treaty of Trianon, the peace treaty that divided the territory of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire in the aftermath of the World War I, came into effect. The question of who and what was considered Hungarian was thus especially urgent at the moment of his collecting. Culin’s interest in Hungary was twofold. He wanted to assist in the country’s economic recovery, especially by supporting its decorative arts industry, and he wanted to inspire American designers and educate the public. Today, his collection and his archive remain important resources for the study of cultural anthropology, art and cultural history, and costume and textile design. [2]

[Sojeong Lim 2026]



[1] Iván Balassa and Gyula Ortutay. Hungarian Ethnography and Folklore. Budapest: Corvina Kiadó, 1979, p. 332.

[2] Deirdre E. Lawrence and Deborah Wythe. "Guide to the Culin Archival Collection." Brooklyn Museum Archives. https://opencollection.brooklynmuseum.org/research/culin/