History and Development of Craft Guilds

Craft Guilds (c.1250-1850)

• Craft Guilds originated in medieval Europe as occupational associations consisting of artisans, suppliers, retailers, and wholesale merchants involved in a specific branch of industry or commerce.
• Guilds varied little in their general organization, with an assembly of all members, a council of advisors, and top officials controlling the guild.
• A typical Guild was divided into three categories: Masters, Journeymen, and Apprentices.
• The main economic aim of craft guilds was to achieve a complete monopoly over everyone involved in the profession, but this was rarely achieved due to competing guilds and state intervention.
• From the 15th century onwards, state intervention targeted rules regarding apprenticeship and key areas of guild policy, leading to a decline in the power and activity of craft guilds from the late 16th century onwards.

Decline of Craft Guilds and the Emergence of Mass-Production

• The Industrial Revolution introduced standardization and mass-production techniques, further accelerating the decline of craft guilds.
• Regulated companies and other associations emerged, contributing to the decline of craft guilds.
• Guilds were finally abolished in various countries: France (1791), Rome (1907), Spain (1840), England (1835), Austria and Germany (1860), and Italy (1864).
• The disappearance of craft guilds marked the end of master-craftsmanship and the emergence of machine-tool dexterity in factories and workshops.

East Asian Arts and Crafts

• Asian art from India, China, Korea, and Japan is known for its mastery of different art forms.
• Examples of art forms mastered in Eastern Asia include lacquerware, jade carving, bronzes, pottery, porcelain, Buddhist sculpture, silks, and other textiles.

Arts and Crafts Movement

• The Arts and Crafts Movement emerged in late Victorian times as a reaction against the mechanization of crafts.
• The movement aimed to promote good design and craftsmanship, emphasizing "honesty" in producing products that showed clearly what they were made of and how they worked.
• The movement's name came from the Arts & Crafts Exhibition Society, founded in 1888, and its origins date back to the 1850s ideas of John Ruskin.

Artists Versus Craftspeople

• The resurgence of handicrafts and decorative arts has led to a blurring of the lines between artists and craftspeople.
• Many craft activities can be distinguished from the fine arts, but a large number of craftspeople creating one-off pieces consider themselves artists.
• There is no logical reason to classify unique pieces of pottery, stained glass, wood-carving, or textile as "craft products" rather than "works of art."

Textile Arts

• Felt is probably the world's oldest textile, with a traditional "wet" felting technique and now also needle felting.
• Knitting forms a fabric or garment by interlacing yarn or thread in connected loops with needles.
• Crochet uses a single hook to hook the loops together directly on the piece, making it easier to work with than knitting.
• Quilting is the process of joining a minimum of three layers of fabric together through stitching or mechanically with a sewing machine.
• Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom, with weft-faced weaving where all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work.
• Weaving is a method of textile production where two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth.