Iso Kršnjavi as ethnographer

U razdoblju nakon ilirskog pokreta pa do pojave Antuna Radića djelovao je čitav niz kulturnih radnika zaslužnih za razvoj etnološke znanosti u Hrvatskoj. U tu skupinu spada i Iso Kršnjavi, poznat po svojoj širokoj naobrazbi, a napose kao Odjelni ministar za Bogoštovlje i nastavu (1891.) Iz dijela njegovih djelatnosti koje se dotiču etnologije vidi se da je njegovo djelovanje bilo u povijesti nacionalne etnologije nepravedno izostavljeno.Iso Kršnjavi was born in Feričanci, near Našice in 1845. He spent his early childhood in Slavonija where he received first impulses for his later activities and interests which he pursued and kept improving all his life. By learning and studying he acquired many-sided and thorough knowledge of painting, history of art and philosophy and he also received a doctorate in law. After a long stay abroad he returned to the country in 1877 when he was appointed professor at Zagreb University, Department od classic archeology and history of art. In 1891 he became minister of religion and education and remained on this duty four years - in this period Croatian school system and culture reached their top. He died in Zagreb in 1927. So far Iso Kršnjavi has not been mentioned in the history of Croatian ethnology. In this study only some of his activities related to ethnology are dealt with: field gathering of material, organization of a number of exhibitions (in Zagreb, Trieste and Budapest), museological activities, efforts to save national architectural heritage, lectures at the University which included material and information on ethnography. All these facts indicate that his ethnological activities have been unjustifiably omitted. In the framework of national ethnology Iso Kršnjavi belongs among predecessors of ethnology i.e. in the group active after the Illyrian movement and before the work of Antun Radić