Step into a captivating story of the Slovene Ethnographic Museum’s (SEM) charming exhibition, Asia in the Heart of Ljubljana: The Life of the Skušek Collection. This extraordinary display invites you to delve into the fascinating world of Austro-Hungarian naval officer Ivan Skušek Jr. and his Japanese wife, Tsuneko Kondō Kawase, who, against all odds, brought a piece of East Asia to the very heart of Ljubljana and founded the largest collection of East Asian artifacts in Slovenia, boasting some truly remarkable pieces. The exhibition is open until May 3, 2026.

The journey of this unique collection began over a century ago when Ivan Skušek Jr. returned to Ljubljana from war captivity in China and brought to Ljubljana 75 large crates brimming with exquisite East Asian artifacts. Their grand vision was to establish an Asian cultures museum in Ljubljana, an ambition that, regrettably, remained unfulfilled during their lifetime. Instead, they displayed the artifacts in their Ljubljana apartment, living surrounded by their treasures and sharing them with countless guests. Today, the Slovene Ethnographic Museum proudly curates this remarkable collection.

A Glimpse into the Skušek Collection

This priceless collection offers visitors a chance to marvel at a meticulously crafted model of a Chinese building, most likely acquired by Skušek for his envisioned museum—a model painstakingly restored in 2023 by experts from the Palace Museum in Beijing and now exhibited for the first time in a hundred years. As you wander through the exhibition, the path leads to a fully reconstructed living room of the Skušeks, allowing you to relive the experience of contact with East Asian culture that inspired generations of their visitors. It emerges into the collection’s origins and the vibrant art market of Beijing at the time, traces its arduous journey to Europe, and reconstructs the intimate story of the Skušek family’s life, lived amidst heaps of treasures across several apartments.

Beyond the architectural model and selected furniture, you’ll encounter numerous outstanding objects from the Skušek Collection, including a grand carved stand with a mirror, a captivating array of Buddhist statuettes, silk-embroidered garments, and elegant kimonos. A unique assortment of unusual Chinese objects, which held a special place in the Skušeks’ home, is also on display, featuring fascinating items like an opium set, pigeon whistles, an array of musical instruments, and many other mysterious objects that whisper tales of distant lands. The exhibition further enhances the visitor experience with a virtual simulation of a museum object and an interactive demonstration of object exploration using 3D modelling.

The Story of Ivan Skušek Jr. and Tsuneko Kondō Kawase

Ivan Skušek’s stay in China (1914-1920) coincided with a particularly vivid period in the art market, fuelled by significant political changes and the invasion of foreign powers. These circumstances made it easier for him to acquire a vast array of antiques. It was in Beijing that he met Tsuneko Kondō Kawase, a Japanese woman who later adopted the name Marija Skušek. In 1920, they returned to Ljubljana with Tsuneko’s two children from her previous marriage, soon followed by their extraordinary collection of Chinese and Japanese artifacts.

Ivan and Tsuneko’s dream of establishing a publicly accessible Asian museum remained unrealized. Consequently, until their deaths—Ivan’s in 1947 and Tsuneko’s in 1963—they lived surrounded by the objects they had brought from China.

Through their home, a wide circle of acquaintances, friends, and numerous other visitors were introduced to the rich cultures and arts of East Asia. Tsuneko, in particular, was remarkably active in this endeavour, delivering countless lectures, making radio appearances, collaborating with theatres, teaching Japanese, and much more.

Even before World War II, their collection drew many admirers in Ljubljana. After the war, their apartment on Strossmayerjeva Street attracted Slovenian and foreign artists and intellectuals who came to admire the artifacts. The Skušeks also generously bequeathed many objects to their family and friends. Since Tsuneko Kondō Kawase’s passing in 1963, the remainder of this invaluable collection has been carefully preserved by the Slovene Ethnographic Museum.

The temporary exhibition Asia in the Heart of Ljubljana: The Life of the Skušek Collection is on display at the Slovene Ethnographic Museum. The authors of the exhibition are Dr. Helena Motoh (Science and Research Centre Koper), Prof. dr. Nataša Vampelj Suhadolnik (Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana), curator mag. Ralf Čeplak Mencin (SEM), dr. Gerald Kozicz and Max Frühwirt (Graz University of Technology). The exhibition was created within the framework of the project The Life of the Skušek Collection.

Did you know that there is a Slovenian Beekeeping Art exibition in China?

The Slovene Ethnographic Museum’s exhibition “Beekeeping Culture and Art of Slovenia” is being hosted at the Xi’an Qujiang Museum of Fine Arts (Xi’an, China) from October 2024 to August 2025. Curators dr. Bojana Rogelj Škafar and Barbara Sosič introduce Slovenia as the home of the indigenous Carniolan honey bee and exceptional beekeepers. The exhibition highlights folk art, especially unique beehive panels, as an expression of beekeeping culture and 19th-century Slovene life, showcasing this unique intangible cultural heritage, which includes the World Bee Day initiative and UNESCO listing.