Damask (; ar, دمشق) is a reversible patterned

fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not ...

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from th ...

wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. ...

linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong, absorbent, and dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. It also ...

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...

, or

synthetic fiber Synthetic fibers or synthetic fibres (in British English; see spelling differences) are fibers made by humans through chemical synthesis, as opposed to natural fibers that are directly derived from living organisms, such as plants (like cotton) ...

s, with a pattern formed by

weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal ...

. Damasks are woven with one

warp Warp, warped or warping may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books and comics * WaRP Graphics, an alternative comics publisher * ''Warp'' (First Comics), comic book series published by First Comics based on the play ''Warp!'' * Warp (comics), a ...

yarn and one

weft Warp and weft are the two basic components used in weaving to turn thread or yarn into fabric. The lengthwise or longitudinal warp yarns are held stationary in tension on a frame or loom while the transverse weft (sometimes woof) is dra ...

yarn, usually with the pattern in warp-faced satin weave and the ground in weft-faced or sateen weave. Twill damasks include a

twill Twill is a type of textile weave with a pattern of diagonal parallel ribs. It is one of three fundamental types of textile weaves along with plain weave and satin. It is made by passing the weft thread over one or more warp threads then ...

-woven ground or pattern.Kadolph, Sara J., ed.: ''Textiles'', 10th edition, Pearson/Prentice-Hall, 2007, , p. 251Monnas, Lisa. ''Merchants, Princes and Painters: Silk Fabrics in Italian and Northern Paintings 1300–1550''. New Haven, Yale University Press, 2008, pp. 295–299

History

The production of damask was one of the five basic weaving techniques—the others being

tabby A tabby is any domestic cat (''Felis catus'') with a distinctive 'M'-shaped marking on its forehead; stripes by its eyes and across its cheeks, along its back, and around its legs and tail; and (differing by tabby type), characteristic striped, d ...

, lampas, and

tapestry Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads ma ...

—of the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

and

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

ern weaving centres of the

early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...

.Jenkins, David T., ed.
''The Cambridge History of Western Textiles''
Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2003, , p. 343. Used in daily nomadic life this form of weaving was used generally as a female occupation, such as carpet-making. Women would collect the raw material from pasture animals and dyes from local flora such as berries, insects, or grasses. Each woman would create a specialized pattern sequence and use of color that was customary to her ethnic group and even herself. These techniques would often be handed down from mother to daughter as well. In China, drawlooms with a large number of heddles were developed to weave damasks with very complicated patterns. The Chinese may have produced damasks as early as the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

(618–907). Damasks derive their name from the city of

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

—in that period a large city active both in trading (as part of the

silk road The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and rel ...

) and in manufacture. Damasks became scarce after the 9th century outside Islamic Spain, but were revived in some places in the 13th century. The word ''damask'' first appeared in records in a Western European language in the mid-14th century in

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

."Damas"
etymology (in French). ''www.cnrtl.fr'' accessed 2 March 2021 By the 14th century, damasks were being woven on draw looms in Italy. From the 14th to 16th century, most damasks were woven in one colour with a glossy warp-faced satin pattern against a duller ground. Two-colour damasks had contrasting colour warps and wefts and polychrome damasks added gold and other metallic threads or additional colours as supplemental brocading wefts. Medieval damasks were usually woven in silk, but weavers also produced

and linen damasks. In the 19th century, the invention of the

Jacquard loom The Jacquard machine () is a device fitted to a loom that simplifies the process of manufacturing textiles with such complex patterns as brocade, damask and matelassé. The resulting ensemble of the loom and Jacquard machine is then called ...

which was automated with a system of punched cards, made weaving damask faster and cheaper.

Modern usage

Modern damasks are woven on computerized Jacquard looms. Damask weaves are commonly produced in monochromatic (single-colour) weaves in silk, linen or synthetic fibres such as

rayon Rayon is a semi-synthetic fiber, made from natural sources of regenerated cellulose, such as wood and related agricultural products. It has the same molecular structure as cellulose. It is also called viscose. Many types and grades of viscose ...

and feature patterns of flowers, fruit and other designs. The long floats of satin-woven warp and weft threads cause soft highlights on the fabric which reflect light differently according to the position of the observer. Damask weaves appear most commonly in table linens and furnishing fabrics, but they are also used for clothing. The damask weave is used extensively throughout the fashion industry due to its versatility and high-quality finish. Damask is usually used for mid-to-high-quality garments, meaning the label tends to have a higher definition and a more “expensive” look.

Rendering on damask

Rendering a drawing on damask is a complex process based on precise techniques. The figure, such as a bird, or branch is drawn on millimetric paper, provided that its width does not exceed 5 cm in the case of being woven on a 400-hook loom where the shape is repeated every 5 cm or the width of the shape every 20 cm. The drawing is applied on cardboard on top of the loom which is called a

Jacquard machine The Jacquard machine () is a device fitted to a loom that simplifies the process of manufacturing textiles with such complex patterns as brocade, damask and matelassé. The resulting ensemble of the loom and Jacquard machine is then called a J ...

and it is movable in such a way that its movement is linked to hooks, and the important thing is to know the number of holes that occupy a square centimeter. When the loom is rotated, the shuttle of the ordinary threads passes as usual between the strands of all kinds. As for the shuttle specialized for golden threads, its passage raises hooks to the number of holes, and so on until the shape is completed, and then the work is repeated whenever the shape is repeated. These drawings used to be transferred with special hooks which were manually boiled.

References

{{Authority control Syrian art Arabic art Figured fabrics Damascus

History

Modern usage

Rendering on damask

See also

References