⭐ 13: A bowl-storage rack

One of the first objects in the Posavje Museum Brežice's collection

Oto Auman, an ardent collector of archaeological, historical and art objects, as well as the initiator and co-founder of the Museum Society for the Political Districts of Krško and Brežice, which was established in Krško in 1939, walked and cycled throughout the Posavje region to collect various objects. He came across this bowl-storage rack while doing fieldwork in the village of Bukošek. He put it on his back and then transported his precious cargo by bicycle. This moment was captured by an unknown photographer, who thus documented the work of Posavje region's first museologists. Even before the establishment of the Posavje Museum Brežice in 1949, Auman's collection, which had previously been exhibited in Krško, was relocated to the Brežice Castle.
 

For heritage enthusiasts:

Oto Auman was born on 27 March 1897 in Krško in a shopkeeper's family. He fell in love with museum objects and museum work at a young age, when he was only 11 and saw the museum collection at the National Museum in Ljubljana. After completing his education, he returned to Krško in 1910, and starter assembling his very first collection; at first, he searched for fossils or petrified remains. He is believed to have had an extensive collection even before World War I, however, this collection has not been preserved. After returning from the war in 1918, he continued his work, focusing on paleontological excavations in the Posavje region. He carried out excavations in the Ajdovska jama cave near the village of Nemška vas, in Libna, Drnovo, in the area of Pijavško etc. Throughout his life, he also collected archaeological and historical objects, as well as some works of art, which were part of his collection. His collection consisting of several thousands of objects was opened to the public in 1938 and was viewed by various experts, among others. He was awarded a decoration of merit in recognition of his work, which gave him the necessary motivation to continue his endeavours and work on his vision for establishing a museum in Krško.
The Museum Society for the Political Districts of Krško and Brežice, whose initiator and co-founder was Auman, was established on 30 September 1939 in Krško. For the exhibition of their collections, the society's members acquired the deconsecrated Church of the Holy Spirit in Krško (the present-day Krško Gallery), set it up for exhibition purposes and opened a museum on 10 November 1940. The maelstrom of war prevented them from doing any further work and Oto Auman's life came to an end during the war too, at an unknown time and place, most likely in 1945.
Just before the liberation in 1945, members of the former Museum Society prevented the occupying forces from taking the collection to Germany and exhibited it in Krško in Valvasor's House. The collection was later relocated to the Brežice Castle, where the Posavje Museum Brežice was inaugurated on 26 June 1949.
The new museum was built on the foundations laid in 1939, when it had been decided that the banks of the river Sava and the two districts would be connected with the aim of presenting the rich local heritage in its own environment as well. This aim was supported by many other museologists; in fact, positive reports about the museum's establishment were written by the employees of the Provincial Museum in Ljubljana, i.e. the present-day National Museum of Slovenia, which celebrated its 200th anniversary on 15 October 2021. An important part of the museum has always been the Posavje region's heritage and museologists who presented it, including Oto Auman and Franjo Stiplovšek, who had been part of the Museum Society in the pre-war period. Franjo Stiplovšek was one of those who made sure the collected museum objects survived the war and the relocation, as well as the Posavje Museum Brežice's first director (from its establishment in 1949 until 1962).

Oto Auman on his bicycle and a bowl-storage rack on his back while doing fieldwork.	A Gardener / Portrait of Oto Auman, 1934, Franjo Stiplovšek (1898–1963), oil, canvas, Inv. No. KZ 1/ 255.	An Antique Collector / Oto Auman, 1944, Franjo Stiplovšek (1898–1963), oil, canvas, Inv. No. KZ 1/ 621.

For more information see:

• Baš Angelos (ur.): Slovenski etnološki leksikon, Ljubljana: Mladinska knjiga, 2004, str. 535.
• Černelič Krošelj Alenka (ur.): Štirje elementi: 3 – ZEMLJA / The four elements: 3 – EARTH. Brežice: Posavski muzej, 2019, str. 138, 205
• Černelič Krošelj Alenka (ur.): »Vljudno vabljeni, nič siljeni«, Muzealca Franjo in Iva Stiplovšek: proti sedmim desetletjem Posavskega muzeja Brežice / Politely Invited, Not Urged — Museum Couple Franjo and Iva Stiplovšek: Into the Seventh Decade of the Posavje Museum Brežice, Brežice: Posavski muzej Brežice, 2018. 

​Prepared by: Mihaela Kovačič

 
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