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« 2026. № 5 (191)

The Ethnology Notebooks. 2026. № 5 (191), 1415—1422

UDK 069.5:739.7 (477.8)”18/19″

DOI https://doi.org/10.15407/

  • Received: 06.08.2026
  • Accepted: 15.09.2026
  • Published: ??.??.2026

HUTSUL WEAPONS IN THE СOLLECTION OF THE MUSEUM OF THE SHEVCHENKО SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY: THE HISTORY OF ACQUISITION OF SELECTED ARTIFACTS BASED ON INVENTORY BOOKS

KRYVENKO Anastasiia

  • ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9353-2919
  • Candidate of Sciences in History, Senior Researcher,
  • the Institute of Ethnology of the National
  • Academy of Sciences of Ukraine,
  • The Department of Modern Ethnology,
  • 15, Svobody Avenue, 79000, Lviv, Ukraine,
  • Contacts: е-mail: n.d.kryvenko@gmail.com

Abstract. Based on the data from inventory books and the «Chronicle of the Shevchenko Scientific Society» (NTSh) publications, the article provides a historical-ethnographic and art-historical characterization of five artifacts from the traditional Hutsul weapon collection of the NTSh Museum. The history of their acquisition is established, and the functional purpose of firearms and cold weapons in the traditional culture of Hutsulshchyna inhabitants during the 19th and early 20th centuries is outlined. The chronological boundaries of the research span from the late 19th century to 1940 (the period of active formation of the museum collection). The methodology is based on the comprehensive application of source study, historical-comparative, and descriptive methods.

The paper emphasizes the high artistic-aesthetic, ritual-magical, and status value of Hutsul firearms (kris, pistols) and cold weapons (topirets, bartka, kelef). The involved archival materials allowed for a detailed highlight of the contribution of the Ukrainian intelligentsia, scholars, collectors, and museum staff (namely Luka Harmatii, Ostap Matsilynskyi, Prokip Hupalo, and the Chervinskyi family) to the rescue and enrichment of the collection. It is demonstrated how the originality of Hutsul craftsmen transformed purely martial items into exquisite works of decorative and applied art, which are considered a national heritage today.

This work was carried out with the financial support of the National Research Foundation of Ukraine within the framework of the project “The Cultural and Artistic Nationwide Phenomenon of the Museum Collection of the Shevchenko Scientific Society at the Museum of Ethnography and Arts and Crafts of the Institute of Ethnology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine: Concepts and Practices of Public Representation” (Project Registration No. 2025.07/0289).

Keywords: NTSh Museum, Hutsul weapons, NTSh inventory books, artistic metal, pistol, rifle, kris, kelef, bartka, topirets.

REFERENCES

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