Shifting Roles
The Imperial Folk Arts and Crafts Revival’s Narratives at the Second All-Russian Kustar’ Exhibition (1913)
abstract
The essay investigates the role of the imperial revival of folk arts and crafts, and its development, at the October Revolution’s threshold. On the occasion of the celebrations for the Romanov’s 300th anniversary (1913), Tsar Nicholas II organized a series of events. Among these was the Second All-Russian Kustar’ Exhibition held in Saint Petersburg. Despite its economic and public success, the exhibition raises increasingly pressing questions regarding both the progressive disconnection among the concepts of “nation” and “empire” and the ever-changing relationship between national identity and folk visual and material culture.
Keywords: Russian Empire • National image • Exhibition • Folklore • Arts and crafts • <p>Kustar • Visual identity • Russian style • Kustar