Editing Damask (section)

==History==
A damask weave is one of the five basic weaving techniques—the others being [[Plain weave|tabby]], [[twill]], [[Lampas]], and [[tapestry]]—of the  [[early Middle Ages]] [[Byzantine silk|Byzantine]] and [[Middle East]]ern weaving centers. Damask was named after the city [[Damascus|Damascus, Syria]], a large trading center on the [[Silk Road]].<ref name="jenkins">Jenkins, David T., ed.: [https://books.google.com/books?id=ZljldSpV28UC ''The Cambridge History of Western Textiles''], Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2003, {{ISBN|0-521-34107-8}}, p. 343.</ref>

=== Damask in China ===
In China, draw looms with a large number of [[heddle]]s were developed to weave damasks with complicated patterns.<ref name="World Textiles">{{cite book |last1=Gillow |first1=John |title=World Textiles: A Visual Guide to Traditional Techniques |date=1999 |publisher=Thames & Hudson |isbn=0-500-28247-1 |page=82}}</ref> The Chinese may have produced damasks as early as the [[Tang dynasty]] (618–907).<ref>{{cite web |title=A World of Looms: Weaving Technology and Textile Arts in China and Beyond |url=http://www.chinasilkmuseum.com/yz/info_98.aspx?itemid=26752 |access-date=11 September 2020 |publisher=China National Silk Museum}}</ref> Damasks became scarce after the 9th century outside [[Al-Andalus|Islamic Spain]], but were revived in some places in the 13th century. Trade logs between The British East India Company and China often demonstrate an ongoing trade of Chinese silks, especially damask.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Lee-Whitman |first=Leanna |date=1982 |title=The Silk Trade: Chinese Silks and the British East India Company |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1180762 |journal=Winterthur Portfolio |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=21–41 |doi=10.1086/496066 |jstor=1180762 |issn=0084-0416|url-access=subscription }}</ref>  Damask is documented as being the heaviest Chinese silk.<ref name=":3" />[[File:Damask with floral sprigs, Italy, Baroque, 1600-1650, silk two-tone damask - Royal Ontario Museum - DSC04376.JPG|thumb|Damask with floral sprigs, Italy, Baroque, 1600–1650, silk two-tone damask]]
[[File:Woman's Spitalfields silk damask shoes with buckles 1740s.jpg|thumb|Woman's silk damask shoes with buckles, England, 1740s]]

===Damask in Europe ===
The word ''damask'' first appeared in a Western European language in mid-14th century French records.<ref>[http://www.cnrtl.fr/definition/damas "Damas"] etymology (in French). ''www.cnrtl.fr'' accessed 2 March 2021</ref> Shortly after its appearance in French language, damasks were being woven on [[Loom|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 [[Warp and woof|warps and wefts]], and polychrome damasks added gold and other metallic threads or additional colours as supplemental [[brocade|brocading]] wefts. Medieval damasks were usually woven in silk, but weavers also produced [[wool]] and linen damasks.<ref name="Monnas1">Monnas, Lisa. ''Merchants, Princes and Painters: Silk Fabrics in Italian and Northern Paintings 1300–1550''. New Haven, Yale University Press, 2008, pp. 295–299</ref>

===Damask and Nomads ===
In daily nomadic life this form of weaving was generally employed by women, specifically in occupations such as carpet-making.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last1=Mozzati |first1=Luca |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/on1121577357 |title=Islamic art |last2=Radzinowicz |first2=David |date=2019 |publisher=Prestel |isbn=978-3-7913-8566-2 |edition=Compact |location=Munich |oclc=on1121577357}}</ref> Women collected raw material from pasture animals and dyes from local flora, such as berries, insects, or grasses, to use in production.<ref name=":2" /> Each woman would create a specialized pattern sequence and color scheme that aligned with her personal identity and ethnic group.<ref name=":2" /> These techniques were passed down generationally from mother to daughter.<ref name=":2" />