Editing Damask

{{Short description|Reversible figured woven fabric}}
{{About|a type of fabric|the capital of [[Syria]]|Damascus|other uses}}

[[Image:ItalianSilkDamask.jpg|thumb|right|Italian silk polychrome damasks, 14th century]]
'''Damask''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|d|æ|m|ə|s|k}}; {{langx|ar|دمشق}}) is a woven, [[Reversible garment|reversible]] patterned [[Textile|fabric]]. Damasks are woven by periodically reversing the action of the warp and weft threads.<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal |last1=Reath |first1=N. A. |last2=Jayne |first2=Horace H. F. |date=1924 |title=A Classification of Hand-Loom Fabrics |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3794229 |journal=Bulletin of the Pennsylvania Museum |volume=20 |issue=89 |pages=23–34 |doi=10.2307/3794229 |jstor=3794229 |issn=0891-3609|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The pattern is most commonly created with a warp-faced [[satin]] weave and the ground with a weft-faced or [[sateen]] weave.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kadolph |first=Sara J. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/ocm65197813 |title=Textiles |date=2007 |publisher=Pearson Prentice Hall |isbn=978-0-13-118769-6 |edition=10th |location=Upper Saddle River, N.J |oclc=ocm65197813}}</ref> [[Yarns]] used to create damasks include [[silk]], [[wool]], [[linen]], [[cotton]], and [[synthetic fiber]]s, but damask is best shown in cotton and linen.<ref name=":02"/> Over time, damask has become a broader term for woven fabrics with a reversible pattern, not just silks.<ref name=":12">{{Cite web |title=Damask {{!}} Damask Weaving, Silk Fabric, Jacquard Loom {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/damask |access-date=2024-04-03 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

There are a few types of damask: true, single, compound, and twill. True damask is made entirely of silk.<ref name=":12"/> Single damask has only one set of warps and wefts and thus is made of up to two colors. Compound damask has more than one set of warps and wefts and can include more than two colors.<ref name=":12" /> Twill damasks include a [[twill]]-woven ground or pattern.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Dimitrova |first=Kate |date=2009-10-22 |title=Kate Dimitrova. Review of "Merchants, Princes and Painters: Silk Fabrics in Italian and Northern Paintings, 1300–1550" by Lisa Monnas. |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.3202/caa.reviews.2009.107 |journal=Caa.reviews |doi=10.3202/caa.reviews.2009.107 |issn=1543-950X|doi-access=free }}</ref>

==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" />

==Modern usage==
In the 19th century, the invention of the [[Jacquard loom]] which was automated with a system of punched cards, made weaving damask faster and cheaper.<ref name="World Textiles" />
[[File:Jacquard-Webstuhl Museum Tuch und Technik.jpg|thumb|Antique Jacquard loom]]
Modern damasks are woven on computerized Jacquard looms.<ref name="text">Kadolph, Sara J., ed.: ''Textiles'', 10th edition, Pearson/Prentice-Hall, 2007, {{ISBN|0-13-118769-4}}, p. 251</ref> Damask weaves are commonly produced in monochromatic (single-colour) weaves in silk, linen or synthetic fibres such as [[rayon]] 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.<ref name="World Textiles" /> The damask weave is prevalent in the fashion industry due to its versatility and high-quality finish. Damask is often used for mid-to-high-quality garments—associating itself with higher quality brands/labels.

==See also==
*[[Diapering]] (damask patterns in heraldry)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{EB1911 poster|Damask}}
{{Commons category}}

{{fabric}}
{{Islamic art}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Syrian art]]
[[Category:Arabic art]]
[[Category:Figured fabrics]]
[[Category:Damascus]]