Ասեղնագործությունը հայոց առաջնային արտադրության մշակույթում (18 - 20 - րդ դարասկիզբ)

<jats:p>Among Armenians, embroidery was traditionally considered a women’s occupation and was practiced exclusively at home to meet the family’s own needs. However, with the establishment of statehood and the formation of both secular and spiritual elites, the distinction between popular and elite cultures also manifested itself in the field of handicrafts. Like other crafts, embroidery evolved from a domestic activity into a professional craft, which, developing over time, had already reached perfection by the Middle Ages. While embroidery as a household activity was practiced solely by women, in the workshops attached to royal courts, noble households, and spiritual centers, the masters of needlework were exclusively men, since workshops were public spaces where women’s participation was prohibited. It is known that in large cities, embroidery masters organized themselves into artisan guilds. There are clear records of such guilds operating in Constantinople in the 18th century. Although Armenian women were excluded from the sphere of public activity and worked only at home, this did not prevent them from earning an income through their craft. From the 19th century onward, numerous sources testify to embroidery being a profitable occupation. These records show that female masters were also concentrated mainly in large cities with well-developed artisan traditions, where intermediary women operated—placing orders with the masters and selling their work. Armenian women’s embroidery was also exported in large quantities to Europe and America. Thanks to their mastery of high-quality needlework, Armenian women and girls were able to sustain themselves in the aftermath of the Hamidian massacres and the Armenian Genocide.</jats:p>