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Created page with 'File:lighterstill.jpgright|frame ==Etymology== Middle French, from northern Italian dial. form of [http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki...'
[[File:lighterstill.jpg]][[File:ARTISANmorrisminstrelsbyartisan.jpg|right|frame]]

==Etymology==
Middle French, from northern Italian dial. form of [http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuscany Tuscan] artigiano, from arte [[art]], from [[Latin]] art-, ars
*Date: [http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/16th_Century 1538]
*1 : a worker who [[practices]] a trade or handicraft : craftsperson
*2 : one that [[Creation|produces]] something (as cheese or wine) in limited [[quantities]] often using [[traditional]] [[methods]]
==Description==
An '''artisan''' (from Italian: artigiano) is a [[skilled]] manual [[worker]] who makes items that may be [[functional]] or strictly [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decorative decorative], including furniture, clothing, jewelry, household items, and [[tools]]. The term can also be used as an adjective to refer to the craft of hand making food products, such as bread, beverages and cheese.

Manufacture by [[hand]] and with hand [[tools]] imparts [[unique]] and [[individual]] qualities to artisanal products, in [[contrast]] to mass produced goods where every one is nearly [[identical]]. Artisans [[traditionally]] work in media such as stone, wood, ceramics, glass, common and precious metals, basketry, [[textiles]], esparto grass, leather, fur, wax, [[paper]], and flowers.
==Artisan origins==
Artisans were the [[dominant]] producers of goods before the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Revolution Industrial Revolution]. According to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_economics classical economics] [[theory]], the division of labor occurs with internal market [[development]] ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Smith Adam Smith]). However, according to economist [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hicks John Hicks], merchants and artisans originated as servants to the rulers, which occurred much earlier. Artisans employ [[creative]] [[thinking]] and manual dexterity to produce their goods.
==Medieval artisans==
During the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Ages Middle Ages] the term "artisan" was applied to those who made [[things]] or provided [[services]]. It did not apply to unskilled laborers. Artisans were divided into [[two]] distinct [[groups]]: those who operated their own [[business]], and those who did not. Those who owned their businesses were called masters, while the latter were the journeymen and apprentices. One misunderstanding many people have about this social [[group]] is that they picture them as "workers" in the modern sense: employed by someone. The most [[influential]] [[group]] among the artisans were the masters, the business owners. The owners enjoyed a higher [[social status]] in their [[communities]].[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artisan]

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