The oldest part of the object collection is constituted by ornaments and parts of folk costumes dating from the 12th-17th centuries. The overwhelming majority of Estonian objects found in the collections date back to the 18th-20th centuries. In addition to Estonian objects this collection also comprises the ones collected from the Coastal Swedes, Ingrian Finns, Izhorians and Votians (Estonian-Ingrian).

The older part mainly includes the objects related to the Estonians’ occupations, as well as commodities and folk art treasures. Through the objects collected mainly at the beginning of the previous century, the regional peculiarities of folk culture and the diversity of folk art are revealed. The most numerous are, for example, the collections of belts, gloves, coverings, ornaments, chairs, chests, tankards, and other objects.

Recently, great emphasis has been laid on collecting material dating from the 1920s and 1930s, as well as objects reflecting the everyday and social life in the Soviet period.