Walking on towards the central part of the building, you can explore the ceramics collection and peek into the ZOOM space. Go on until you reach the middle, where the exhibition spaces open up before you. The Ceramic Space with 4,000 artefacts displayed along the stairs running through the building is the museum’s free exhibition. This incredibly rich exhibition consisting of two parts allows an insight into the Hungarian and international collections of the museum. Each piece of pottery is like a small world in itself: its maker, user, function, style, material, decoration, colour, sound, volume, and inscription all contain secrets about how clay ‘sticks’ people, periods, societies and customs together.
The building of the Museum of Ethnography was designed to meet the most up-to-date requirements and, therefore, the exhibition spaces are all under the ground, in the ‘belly’ of the building. This serves a useful purpose since sunlight, which can damage the artworks, can be blocked, and it is also easier to keep the humidity and temperature within the ideal range.
Located in the wing facing the Museum Underground Parking is the Ethnoshop, which stocks an array of wonderful, reimagined folk art products and design objects of everyday use: exclusive, small-series collections crafted with traditional, folk methods as well as a wide range of home décor and fashion, products, toys, DIY sets, and much more. Opposite the Ethnoshop you will find the museum’s bookstore, called Etknow, holding a rich body of knowledge related to the collections. If you just fancy a bite of something or a lovely cup of coffee with some dessert, there’s no need to walk over to the Ethnobistro: the small cosy café next to Etknow also has a great selection.