Illustration: Russian lace makers 1911
Little was known in the rest of Europe and the world at large, about Russian lace making until the publication in 1870 of a book dealing with lace, but more specifically that of Russian lace makers. The book was written by Sophie Davydorf and was a rich and detailed history dealing with many different forms of lace making across the Russian Empire. However, probably the most important benefit of Davydorf's book was her highlighting of the plight of thousands of peasant women who were working slave hours and wages in the production of fine lace for wealthy Russians. Many of these wealthy Russians were either unaware, or chose to be unaware, of the conditions that had to be tolerated in order for their precious lace to be produced.
When serfdom, which was state slavery in all but name, was abolished across most of the Russian Empire in 1861, it was thought that the plight of many of Russia's poor would be for the better and that advances in both education and wages would solve many of the problems that had afflicted the serf class. However, there was little incentive to change the situation that had remained as a status quo for generations and life continued much as before.
Illustration: Lace work produced by the School of Princess Tenischeff 1911
One of the particular problems that craft women faced was that of middle-men, those who stood between craftswoman and the wealthy consumer. They kept the wages of the maker extremely low and the prices charged for the consumer, extremely high, thus making the lion's share of profit. Within the Russian craft industry, lace makers were treated particularly badly with a combination of inadequate wages and hard and long hours. Eyesight tended to fail quickly, but there were always new girls and young women to replace those who could not work as well anymore, and these were then cast aside with no payoff or hope for future employment.
Davydorf's book helped to highlight at least some of the more acute problems facing lace makers. With the wide success of her book liberal Russians and those with an interest in helping to relieve the plight of former serfs, galvanised themselves into producing practical help. These usually took the form of training schools, which were used to teach girls at least to a certain level of competence so that, in theory at least, they would be able to benefit from higher wages because of their increased skills base.
Illustration: Lace work produced by the School of Princess Tenischeff 1911
In 1873, the first exhibition of Russian lace was seen outside Russia. It was held in South Kensington, which at a future date was to become the Victoria and Albert Museum, in London. The exhibition was a great success and did much to publicise the skills of Russian lace makers across Europe. The exhibition also galvanised the Russian government and wealthy private individuals into sponsoring further national and international exhibitions dealing with many aspects of Russian crafts and was by no means limited to that of lace makers. The government also helped to spread the idea of schools across Russia that would teach and train future craft makers.
Schools were funded at all levels and were situated in both urban and rural locations, with some schools focusing on lace making, while others expanded into weaving and embroidery. As far as rural schools were concerned, there was the ulterior motive of trying to stem, or at least delay the movement of the rural working population to urban centres and factory work. It was considered by many that skilled craftwork would give the individual pride and a means of supporting themselves, as opposed to that of unskilled factory work.
Illustration: Russian lace tablecloth 1911
However, even with a great deal of enthusiasm the plight of many lace makers did not change dramatically and even though there was a lot of support both inside and outside the Russian Empire for the highly skilled work produced by lace makers, many were still at the mercy of ruthless middle men who preyed on countless craftswomen across Russia. Lace makers still had to deal with woefully inadequate wages and overly long hours.
The Revolution eventually put paid to lace making as a craft industry. With no aristocracy, there was little or no market for expensive and time-consuming work and the lace industry died. Through a combination of changing markets, fashion and the heightened ambitions of women after the Revolution, lace making seemed an unattractive prospect to many a Russian girl and was firmly placed in a past context with little to endear it to the modern world of the twentieth century.
Illustration: Russian lace coat of arms tea cloth 1911
Further reading links:
Lace of Russia: Vologda Lace (Masterpieces of Russian Folk Art)
Russian Lace Patterns
Russkoe pletenoe kruzhevo/Russian Pillow Lace
Russian Bobbin Lace
Russian Lace Making
Russian Embroidery and Lace
Step by Step Russian Tape Lace
Gossamer Webs: The History and Techniques of Orenburg Lace Shawls
Angels in Russian Tape-Lace
RUSSIAN PILLOW LACE
