Economy or Ethnography? Vladimir Tkalčić’s Role during the First Phase of Work of the Ethnographic Museum in Zagreb

The text depicts the role of Vladimir Tkalčić in the Ethnographic Museum in Zagreb from 1919 to 1934, a period characterised by the so-called diarchy between him and Salamon Berger. Various museological and expert concepts that they represented and implemented were a reflection of new ideas and inherited concepts in turbulent times after World War I and the establishment of a new state, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. Tentatively, we can speak of a “scientific” approach and a “commercial” approach that juxtaposed, intertwined, and complemented each other. The data from the museum documentation show that S. Berger understood the activities of the Museum as a continuation of his previous trade and craft practices, while V. Tkalčić sought to introduce museological and scientific principles in the museum work