An Empirical Study of Hand-Loom Linen Damask Design and Production in Ireland

The craft of Jacquard hand-loom linen damask weaving in Ireland has a rich tradition spanning close to three centuries. Celebrated for its unparalleled figuring capacity and fineness, it has long been patronaged by royalty. Currently listed as 'Critically Endangered' by the Heritage Crafts Association there are only two practitioners in Ireland. As one of them, and with twenty-plus years experience of weaving and designing, I have become aware of gaps in the existing knowledge of some of the intrinsic technical processes of the craft, which in turn has led me to question, very much with a weaver's eye, the salient features of Irish damask design and why and how they were achieved. A greater technical appreciation can afford a more comprehensive understanding of how design developed, and of how designers challenged and exploited the technical constraints of the loom. The fragility of the crafts survival is uppermost in my concern, and I would hope that by adding to the knowledge of the mechanics of production and by contributing to a fuller understanding of the evolution of Irish hand-loom damask design with which it is invariably linked, that greater recognition and appreciation of this craft will follow and a pedagogical model established for future generations.
Successive generations of damask hand-loom weavers tacitly acquired the 'habit, knowledge... language of the loom' from preceding generations. This strong oral tradition means that few written records survive, and those weavers who grew into the practise of that tradition are sadly no longer with us. To date there is no exhaustive technical study of Irish Jacquard hand-loom linen damask weaving, and it has only been through the continuity of my practice that I have been able to identify gaps in the technical processes in the weaving of high-end damask. Many specialist techniques, the materials used, and how they were applied have been lost over time. The preparation and treatment given to warp threads to enable the finest of lea counts to be woven, techniques of beaming and warping looms, the gearing of looms, how handmade cords for tying up were constructed, the variations of harness set-ups and Jacquard mechanisms employed to effect maximum capacity of design patterning, the employment of multiple Jacquard machines, and the ergonomics and materials used in loom construction are some of the areas which I propose to redress. Researching archival records, extant looms, old photographs of loom set-ups, and most importantly detailed examination of extant napery will be part of the investigative approach to these technical issues. The cloths are physical records of the practices employed in their making and technical analysis examining pattern units, components of repeat, cloth counts, weave structures and harness mountings can help capture these lost methods.
Consequentially these findings would underpin and consolidate a study of the historical development of patterning in Irish damask, with particular reference to the Coulson and John McCollum manufactories, who achieved global standing for the quality of their damask. The technical restraints and discipline of the loom and its apparatus determine the framework and constraints under which the artist/designer must work, and thereby strongly informs the design process. I will examine how designs were executed, how they evolved and how their designers maximised the creative potential of loom set ups. Furthermore, it is important to determine if these manufactories shared a commonality of design? Did an ornamental vocabulary persist down through the centuries? Was Irish damask impaired or enhanced by its heraldic and armorial roots? What influence, if any, did broader stylistic and cultural movements have on the development of damask design in Ireland? Did the designers increasing need for figuring capacity lead to adaptations and evolution of Jacquard machines?