Damask trickled into Europe from China and the Byzantine and Islamic empires in the early Middle Ages. It was in silk; a cloth no one in Europe had seen before and a weave no one knew how to replicate. This intriguing interplay of warp and weft was developed in China, certainly by the 7th century. Using just one yarn colour, it created pattern by combining two different weave techniques that set areas of plain matt weave against areas woven in glossy sateen. Single-colour damask was, and still is, reversible; the pattern can be seen with matt motifs framed by sateen, or the other way round.
Damask takes it name from the Syrian capital, Damascus, a weaving and trading city, and a convergent point on the Silk Road. These various routes first brought cloth and much else to the Mediterranean from China and countries in between, including ones we know as Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan. By the 9th century, damask weaving had arrived in Sicily and Spain following Islamic victories there, and it was taken to Italy when weavers from Sicily were brought to the city of Lucca in the 12th century, bringing their knowledge of damask weaving and designs.
Esta historia es de la edición January 2023 de Homes & Antiques.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición January 2023 de Homes & Antiques.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Collecting Dioramas MINIATURE WORLDS
From elaborate taxidermy museum displays to humble folk art creations, a diorama can transport us to another time and place
Pride of place LEEDS CREAMWARE
In its heyday the pre-eminent rival to Wedgwood's Queens ware, Leeds creamware is still much revered by collectors for its understated elegance
Bohemian Rhapsody
An exuberant approach to decor, with rooms enveloped in colour and pattern, has brought this historic home merrily into the 21st century...
THE ANTIQUES THAT SHAPED ME Rory Hutton
The accessories designer on his love of silver spoons and Sévres porcelain
European HERITAGE B&Bs
Is there anything more inspiring than staying somewhere that's both beautifully stylish and imbued with history? Rhiannon Batten explores five gems across Europe, from Sweden to Spain...
STAR SALES
A Hitchens painting, a museum-quality teapot and a Parisian chocolate box are all top of the lots
Textile designs by artists
Influential 20th-century fine artists and sculptors, from Picasso to Barbara Hepworth, gained additional status as textile designers until decline set in during the 1970s
Period DRAMA
A painstaking renovation has brought this 1725 former Huguenot silk weaver's house in London's Spitalfields back to life
An artist's RESIDENCE
Rustic details and a restrained palette lend a sense of simplicity to this lovingly restored Friesian bakery
Carefully Curated LIVING
This lovingly restored Gustavian manor has become both home and showroom for its owners, Maria & Jan Åke, who deal in European antiques