Producer unknown to us
Snow shoe
Europe, Poland, Krkonose Mountains
Prior to 1867
Wood, plant fibre
Gustav Klemm (privy Councilor in Dresden, librarian)
Purchased by the museum from heirs of Klemm in 1869
Eu 17719
For centuries, the peasant population used this form of snowshoe all over the Krkonoše Mountains. Findings from the ice age suggest that similar forms were already in use. The snowshoes were part of the cultural-historical collection of the librarian Gustav Klemm, and they thus belonged to the founding collection of the Leipzig Museum of Ethnology. Among other things, they are evidence of the universal approach of the museum's collection. Klemm was a supporter of evolutionary theory. His views inspired interpretations and adaptations in the most diverse ways, from folk ideologists to representatives of the cultural circle theory to Karl Marx.
Klemm envisioned a museum that dealt with the universal history of humanity, an idea that Karl Weule continued to promote. However, his General Anthropology Division – a world-historical inventory aimed at providing a developmental comparison – was never realized.
Marita Andó