Objects and decorations made in a traditional fashion by craftsmen and women without formal training, either for daily use and ornament or for special occasions such as weddings and funerals. Decorative wood-carving, embroidery, lace, basketwork and earthenware are among the typical products of folk art. The term is not properly extended to include articles which are mass-produced to appeal to popular taste.

In the 19th and early 20th centuries it was thought that folk art was a belated reflection of the professional art of a bygone period. Specialists now tend rather to recognize in folk art an autonomous tradition of craftsmanship and design which is at times influenced by professional art, but which tends to retain its own character and techniques through the centuries. Folk art is little subject to fashion and changing taste. Its methods are handed down in the home from generation to generation, and traditional patterns and designs persist with little alteration.