002.426.Idrija

Idrija Municipal Museum, Prelovčeva 9, SI-5280 Idrija

Public

Municipality of Idrija, Mestni trg 1, SI-5280 Idrija

510:IDR;EZ-415

Mine, Daily life

The cradle is dark stained and has a simple, yet functional design. The bottom two boards (supporting) are rounded and have a “leg” for rocking the cradle on both sides. There are two elongated holes on top, intended for transport. Six holes for “fluid drainage” are on the bottom.

Length 80 cm, width 42 cm, height 24 cm.

Wood.

First half of the 20th century.

Manufacturer information is not known.

The cradle served as a bed where babies slept. A newborn baby slept in a oblong wooden bowl, called a “nečka”. Other children slept in a drawer, also called a “ladlc”, at their parents feet, or a few children shared one small bed. Older children slept on a settee called a “kanape”, on the chest, on the bench, on chairs, under the bread oven during the winter, on the floor on the pallet and on bunk beds in the woodshed. The boys slept in the attic. Children’s beds were purchased by mining families after the first child grew out of the cradle. The other bed of the family belonged to the father and it was usually placed in the “house”. The mother and the child slept in the “matrimonial bed”. The residential culture of mining families was therefore very poor. Illnesses and child mortality were very common, due to bad hygienic conditions.

The cradle is being preserved, secured and presented as important mining heritage of Idrija with exceptional universal values. It is a part of the ethnological collection of Idrija Municipal Museum. Visitors can view it within the permanent museum display exhibition in the Idrija Miner's House. It can also be used for different types of mercury heritage promotions. The items displayed in the Idrija Miner’s House take the visitors to the lives and residential code of mining families in Idrija in housing from the first half of the 20th century.

Idrija.

The Idrija Miner's House, Bazovniška 4 (“karma pri hiši” – the den in the house).

A conservation procedure was performed on the described object for the needs of the museum exhibition. Therefore, no additional interventions are necessary. Security of the premises is taken care of.

good

Regular seasonal maintenance.

- Inventory Book of the Idrija Municipal Museum.

Mestni muzej Idrija

Miha Kosmač

20. 3. 2018

Never