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.
This story is from the January 2023 edition of Homes & Antiques.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the January 2023 edition of Homes & Antiques.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
48 hours in FUNCHAL
Jenny Oldaker discovers Madeira's capital to be an elegant, artistic place with wide open spaces, verdant beauty spots and a picture-perfect sea-facing location...
LUKE HONEY'S Enthusiasms
On an autumn day in 1783, a sheep, a duck, and a rooster became the first living creatures to fly in a hot air balloon.
Collecting NUTCRACKERS
Not just for Christmas, these nostalgic keepsakes come in an abundance of novelty shapes and styles, offering character and affordability for budding collectors
WHY I COLLECT Medals
Oliver Miller, managing director of Bishop & Miller Auctioneers and Valuers, is fascinated by medals - for him it's all about the preservation of stories for future generations...
Fashionably CURATED
Roni Lang's home in Deal, situated above her clothing store, is every bit as creative and stylish as you'd expect from a fashion designer
Work life balance
Lucy and Guy Rutter - a ceramicist and artist respectively - have found the ideal place to live and work: a Victorian property in Faversham attached to a once-neglected studio...
Farm FUSION
A farmhouse near Cape Town has been given a rustic-meets-industrial makeover, using found materials and objects, as well as treasures brought back from afar
SAVVY Sophistication
Affordable and intriguing charity shop and eBay finds are teamed with statement pieces in this impressive Victorian home in West Yorkshire
DARREN APPIAGYEI
The wood artist talks to Dominique Corlett about seed pods, creative reinvention and the life-enhancing feeling of turning a lathe
Collecting Dioramas MINIATURE WORLDS
From elaborate taxidermy museum displays to humble folk art creations, a diorama can transport us to another time and place