Brocade
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, 1760–1770. Maya backstrap loom.|upright brocade loom, Nanjing, China, 2010 Brocade ( ) is a class of richly decorative shuttle-woven fabrics, often made in coloured silks and sometimes with gold and silver threads. The name comes from Italian meaning 'embossed cloth', originally past participle of the verb 'to stud, set with nails', from , 'small nail', from Latin , 'projecting, pointed'. Brocade is typically woven on a draw loom. It is a supplementary weft technique; that is, the ornamental brocading is produced by a supplementary, non-structural, weft in addition to the standard weft that holds the warp threads together. The purpose of this is to give the appearance that the weave was actually embroidered on. In Guatemala, brocade is the most popular technique used to decorate fabric woven by Maya weavers on backstrap looms. Ornamental features in brocade are emphasised and wrought as additions to the main fabric, sometimes stiffening it, though more frequently producing on its face the effect of low relief. In some, but not all, brocades, these additions present a distinctive appearance on the back of the material where the supplementary weft or floating threads of the brocaded or broached parts hang in loose groups or are clipped away. When the weft is floating on the back, this is known as a continuous brocade; the supplementary weft runs from selvage to selvage.…
, 1760–1770.]] Maya backstrap loom.|upright]] brocade loom, Nanjing, China, 2010]] Brocade ( ) is a class of richly decorative shuttle-woven fabrics, often made in coloured silks and sometimes with gold and silver threads. The name comes from Italian meaning 'embossed cloth', originally past participle of the verb 'to stud, set with nails', from , 'small nail', from Latin , 'projecting, pointed'. Brocade is typically woven on a draw loom. It is a supplementary weft technique; that is, the ornamental brocading is produced by a supplementary, non-structural, weft in addition to the standard weft that holds the warp threads together. The purpose of this is to give the appearance that the weave was actually embroidered on. In Guatemala, brocade is the most popular technique used to decorate fabric woven by Maya weavers on backstrap looms. Ornamental features in brocade are emphasised and wrought as additions to the main fabric, sometimes stiffening it, though more frequently producing on its face the effect of low relief. In some, but not all, brocades, these additions present a distinctive appearance on the back of the material where the supplementary weft or floating threads of the brocaded or broached parts hang in loose groups or are clipped away. When the weft is floating on the back, this is known as a continuous brocade; the supplementary weft runs from selvage to selvage. The yarns are cut away in cutwork and broché. Also, a discontinuous brocade is where the supplementary yarn is only woven in the patterned areas.
China
The manufacture of brocade began during the Warring States period of China. Many products of brocade have been found in tombs of the era. Several distinct styles of brocade have been developed in China, the most famous being Yunjin (Cloud brocade) of Nanjing, Song brocade of Suzhou, and Shu brocade of Chengdu.
Southeast Asia
Songket is a type of brocade in the Malay world (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei etc.)
Gallery
File:Boys riding goats, 15th-16th C.jpg|Silk brocade (detail), Boys riding goats. Ming dynasty, 15th/16th century. File:Persian Silk Brocade - Shah Abbasi Flower - Seyyed Hossein Mozhgani - 1974.jpg|Persian Silk Brocade. Brocade weaver: Seyyed Hossein Mozhgani, 1974, Ministry of Culture and Art, Iran. File:Isabelle De Strange, Brocade Costume, c. 1938, NGA 13643.jpg|Isabelle De Strange, Brocade Costume, c. 1938, NGA 13643
Further reading
Brocade paper (fragment), originally belonging to a sample book of J. M. Munck, Augsburg, 1751, treasure 5, National Library of The Netherlands Marypaul Yates. Fabrics: A Guide for Interior Designers and Architects. W. W. Norton & Co. . Ventura, Carol. Maya Hair Sashes Backstrap Woven in Jacaltenango, Guatemala; Cintas Mayas tejidas con el telar de cintura en Jacaltenango, Guatemala , 2003. .
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