Himmel och Helvete av Wanja Djanaieff Himmel – en damastberättelse
The artistic weaving technique, called damask, is said to have first been created in Damascus, thereby the name. It was the fabric that was woven to the princely clothes of the princes and for pure decorative purposes. Even today, damask is considered to be the most elegant tissues. Damask is a usually mono color fabric, where the pattern and / or figures are formed in varpsatin on the bottom of the weave satin or vice versa. The effect is achieved by the light being reflected differently from the warp and weft surfaces, so that the pattern either appears shiny against a matte bottom or matte against a glossy bottom. The technique can also be used for two-color patterns with very elegant effect.
Cultivating, preparing, spinning and weaving linen is an ancient art in our country, but the art of weaving patterned linen was hardly felt in Sweden before the 16th century. Of course, the hands-on “great power” attracted skilled weavers here. Queen Hedvig Eleonora made 1696 large orders for tablecloths and napkins at some weavers in Stockholm. Then, Swedish linen master production started. There are still three napkins preserved from the beginning of the 18th century with her crowned name cipher and “Three Crowns” woven. Today tablecloths and napkins are delivered in linen damask with Sweden’s “Three crowns” woven from us at Klässbols Linneväveri to the Swedish embassies all over the world.