Whether you're looking for something small like a t-shirt, mug, magnet, tote bag, pins, postcards..., which most of the museums have, or more costly items like jewelry, works of art and serious literature, we'd like to try and familiarize you with the rich offering of the museum gift shops in BiH’s capital city.
The Sarajevo Haggadah
One of the most notable items at the National Museum of BiH is the Sarajevo Haggadah, which was brought here by Sephardic Jews in the 16th century. It's possible to buy one or more of the five pages of the Haggadah on offer, or the complete work, The Sarajevo Haggadah – History and Art, a two-volume set that contains a copy of the Haggadah and a book about it.
There are also mini stećci, seals from the Charter of king Tvrtko (1433) and the Charter of Stjepan Tomaš (1444), replicas of busts from Butmir, t-shirts with Queen Doroteja Gorjanska’s seal; plus posters, leg warmers and postcards with Bosnian carpet motifs and scenes of Sarajevo between two empires, and coloring books by Aleksandra Nina Knežević.
The souvenir shop at the nearby Historical Museum of BiH is also interesting. Here you can buy sketches by Safet Zec, NNeNN Design jewelry that has stećci motifs, and pictures and postcards from Jim Marshall's exhibit, “15 Years.”
Motifs from the famous stained-glass window by Vojo Dimitrijević, which adorns this museum, can be found on pen/jewelry boxes, magnets and pins. There are also miniature busts of Josip Broz Tito, posters from major events like the Olympics, large exhibits and festivals; umbrellas, picture books, key chains, mugs…, all of which have motifs from medieval BiH to today.
At Brusa Bezistan, an annex of the Museum of Sarajevo that has items from pre-history to the end of the Austro-Hungarian period, be sure to look for mini Ilidžanska patera and items featuring Gavrilo Princip, who assassinated Franz Ferdinand, heir-apparent to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife Sophie. This event triggered the start of WWI.
A rich tradition
Like most of the museums, the shop at the Museum of Literature & Performing Arts has interesting literary works, and you can look for souvenirs that look at the Siege of Sarajevo 1992-1995 at the Tunnel of Hope. Buy some CDs by interpreters of traditional BiH sevdalinka music at Sevdah Art House, and items featuring motifs from BiH’s rich traditions at the Bosniak Institute.
The popular National Gallery of BiH has souvenirs with motifs from major works in the collection, and be sure to buy some posters, tote bags, mugs, t-shirts and postcards that show works by Ferdinand Hodler, Gabrijel Jurkić, Roman Petrović....
If you'd like to peek into the magical world of tricks, the Museum of Optical Illusions has puzzle sets, brain teasers, tangrams, magic bags....
