Ethnography

Throughout history, mankind has collected and sought to preserve objects of sacred value, of interest from a cognitive or aesthetic point of view. The origin of ethnographic collections can be attributed to the time when exotic objects produced by another ethnic group appeared in collections.

The museum's collections contain ethnographic items made in the XVIII, XIX and early XX centuries, and many of them are considered historical and cultural rarities. They also contain quite valuable information about the life and culture, worldview, and beliefs of people.

The beginning of the ethnographic collections was laid by the admission to the museum of household items and clothing seized during the dispossession of the Bay farms in 1927. So we have magnificent samples of gold embroidery from the house of bai Aldiyarov - a man's robe and cap, a woman's doublet and beshmet, a man's leather belt - a belbeu kise, a woman's saddle and bridle, richly decorated with silver overlays, oriental metal dishes.

The traditional national clothing of the Kazakhs was well adapted to the conditions of nomadic life and the variability of the weather. It was durable and comfortable, simple and elegant. Clothing was divided into men's, women's and children's, upper and undergarments, seasonal, everyday and festive.

The clothes of girls and young women were lavishly decorated with national ornaments. Preference was given to imported fabrics of red color, which has long symbolized life and the sun in the steppe.

The most valuable part of the museum's collection is its collections of jewelry, primarily women's jewelry. They feature jewelry made of silver, semi-precious stones and glass. They demonstrate numerous types of head and chest jewelry, bracelets and rings. Expressive, distinguished by the harmony of forms and decor, Kazakh jewelry is a bright page of folk art, part of the treasury of national culture.

Kazakh carpets, patterned ribbons, tekemets and syrmaks, ancient and modern – the patterned wealth of Kazakhstan. From wool, felt, they clearly tell about the traditions of carpet weaving and weaving that have developed in the northern region of Kazakhstan.

The dishes used in the household were made mainly of metal, wood, stone, bone and skins of domestic animals. Craftsmen made various items: leather sabas for storing koumiss, cups, buckets, ladles, wooden dishes for churning butter, bowls, kumgans, vases, etc.

Special attention was paid to the items of clothing of the Slavic peoples living in our region. The basis of the clothing collection consisted of women's and men's suits, as well as utensils for drinks and serving food on the table; items for storing clothes and utensils, things used for home decoration. The scientific significance of these monuments in the eyes of ethnographers increased if they were decorated with embroidery, woven ornament, carving, painting, embossing, engraving, enamel. Along with similar items, agricultural implements and tools used in handicraft production were also acquired in the museum's collection.

The museum's collections, being the most valuable ethnographic source, are widely used in the creation of exhibitions, the development of permanent exhibitions of the museum, invariably attract researchers, are used in scientific publications and illustrated publications.