Damask with floral sprigs, Italy, Baroque, 1600-1650, silk two-tone damask - Royal Ontario Muse
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Damask (; ar, دمشق) is a reversible patterned fabric of silk, 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, 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. 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 yarn, usually with the pattern in warp-faced satin weave and the ground in weft-faced or sateen weave. Twill damasks include a twill-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, twill, lampas, and tapestry—of the Byzantine and Middle Eastern weaving centres of the early Middle Ages.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 (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 reli ...
) 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 wool 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 a Ja ...
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 f ...
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 Jac ...
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.


See also

* Diapering (damask patterns in heraldry)


References

{{Authority control Syrian art Arabic art Figured fabrics Damascus