Armorial hall - Ivory Cabinet and arts and crafts

The beginning of the collection of ivory artworks is connected with the archbishop of Olomouc Leopold Prečan. The collection was probably quite personal in the beginning and decorated the Archbishop's private house at Svatý Kopeček near Olomouc. The beginnings of Prečan's interest in ivory can be dated to before 1930. The archbishop's items were obtained from many sources, most often bought from antique dealers. The largest part of the collection comprises works of 19th-century craftsmanship, mainly from well-known workshops in Dieppe in France and Erbach in Germany. The Archbishop was also one of the first collectors of oriental art and gathered a large number of small Japanese carvings called netsuke, which at that time were only just starting to arouse interest among collectors.

Two statues of Our Lady with Jesus, Parisian works from the 13th and 14th centuries, are among the oldest works in the collection. The most remarkable piece however is the Žebrák (Beggar) figurine made of ivory, exotic wood and glass. The creation of similar statuettes was widespread in southern Germany in the second half of the 17th century and in the first half of the 18th century.