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    Published: 2023-12-30
    No. 7 (2023)

    Craftsmen of Vilnius – some facts from the life of embroiderers in the 18th–20th centuries

    Gabija Surdokaitė-Vitienė
    Artifex Novus
    Section: Artykuły tematyczne
    https://doi.org/10.21697/an.13466

    Abstract

    The publication reviews the history of craftsmen embroiderers in Vilnius from the 17th through early 20th centuries. The main focus is devoted to those embroiderers who worked in Vilnius and belonged to guilds and those who especially learned this craft. Christian craftsmen embroiderers in Vilnius were never numerous, so they did not create their own guild. From 1633, they belonged to the posament makers’ guild. However, in the first half of the 18th century, the embroiderers separated from the posament makers and paid taxes to the city treasury as individual craftsmen working there. In the documents of the second half of the 18th century, Christian embroiderers are not mentioned among Vilnius craftsmen as they lost to Jewish craftsmen in the competitive struggle. According to the available data, we can state that the embroidery craft was very poorly paid because none of the embroiderers is mentioned among the owners of houses in the city of Vilnius.

    New educational institutions affected the rise of Christian embroiderers in the late 18th century. For example, the Baby Jesus shelter for abandoned children was founded in 1786, where children, among other crafts, were taught the profession of the embroiderer. In the mid-19th century, immediately after the abolition of serfdom, the development of crafts was taken care of, which was carried out throughout Russia and Lithuania as well in order to provide at least an elementary source of livelihood to the poorest people of the country. Separate courses and schools were established for the education of craftsmen. However, from the surviving school reports, we can conclude that the profession of embroiderers did not seem to be in demand, and not many people wanted to acquire it. In the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries, men embroiderers were more engaged in decorating secular textiles, while a greater proportion of women were employed in ecclesiastical workshops and embroidering liturgical textiles.

    Keywords:

    crafts, embroiderers, Vilnius guilds, Jewish craftsmen, Christian craftsmen

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    Citation rules

    Surdokaitė-Vitienė , G. (2023). Craftsmen of Vilnius – some facts from the life of embroiderers in the 18th–20th centuries. Artifex Novus, (7), 196–208. https://doi.org/10.21697/an.13466

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