Damask

Damask (Arabic :دمسق) is a reversible figured fabric of silk, wool, linen, cotton, or synthetic fibers, with a pattern formed by weaving. Damasks are woven with one warp 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.

History

Damasks were one of the five basic weaving techniques of the Byzantine and Islamic weaving centres of the early Middle Ages, and derive their name from their supposed origin in the city of Damascus, Syria. Damasks were scarce after the ninth century outside of Islamic Spain, but were revived in some places in the thirteenth century. By the fourteenth century, damasks were being woven on draw looms in Italy. From the fourteenth to the sixteenth century, most damasks were woven in a single 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 colors as supplemental brocading wefts. Medieval damasks were usually woven in silk, but wool and linen damasks were also woven.

Modern uses

Damask weaves are commonly produced today in monochromatic (single-colour) weaves in silk, linen or linen-type synthetic fabrics which 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 (a property known as "iridescence"). Damask weaves are most commonly found in table linens, but are also used for clothing and furnishings. Modern damasks are woven on computerized Jacquard looms.

Translation

The word "Damask" occurs as such in the following languages: English, Danish, Norwegian (Bokmål).

Translation(s) in other languages: Arabic: بروكار دمشقي, Czech: Damašek (tkanina), German: Damast (Stoff), Estonian: Damast, French: Damas (tissu), Italian: Damasco (tessuto), Macedonian: Дамаст, Dutch: Damast (textiel), Polish: Adamaszek, Russian: Дамаст, Slovenian: Damast, Finnish: Damasti, Swedish: Damast.