View source for Brocade

{{Short description|Decorative shuttle-woven fabric}}
{{other uses}}
[[File:Paris - Cathédrale Notre-Dame - Trésor de la cathédrale - Ornements sacerdotaux -3.JPG|thumbnail|Cope and chasuble; Brocade of Lyon. 19th Century]]
[[File:Brocart de soie français.jpg|right|thumb|Silk brocade fabric, [[Lyon, France]], 1760–1770.]]
[[File:JacaltecBrocade.jpg|thumb|Detail of hair-sash being brocaded on a [[Jakaltek people|Jakaltek]] [[Maya peoples|Maya]] backstrap [[loom]].|upright]]
[[File:Brocade loom.jpg|thumb|Large [[Yunjin]] brocade loom, [[Nanjing]], China, 2010]]

'''Brocade''' ({{IPAc-en|b|r|oʊ|ˈ|k|eɪ|d}}) is a class of richly decorative [[shuttle (weaving)|shuttle-woven]] [[fabric]]s, often made in coloured [[silk]]s and sometimes with [[gold]] and [[silver]] threads.<ref name=EB1911>{{EB1911|inline=1|wstitle=Brocade|volume=4|pages=620-622}}</ref> The name, related to the same root as the word "[[broccoli]]", comes from [[Italian language|Italian]] {{lang|it|broccato}} meaning 'embossed cloth', originally [[past participle]] of the [[verb]] {{lang|it|broccare}} 'to stud, set with nails', from {{lang|it|brocco}}, 'small nail', from [[Latin]] {{lang|la|broccus}}, 'projecting, pointed'.<ref>[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=brocade brocade: EtymologyOnline]</ref>

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 (weaving)|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 peoples|Maya]] weavers on [[backstrap loom]]s.

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.<ref name=EB1911/> 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.

== History ==
===China===
The manufacture of brocade began during the [[Warring States period]] of China.<ref name=cgtyhc07>{{cite book|editor1-last=Ye|editor1-first=Lang|editor2-last=Fei|editor2-first=Zhengang|editor3-last=Wang|editor3-first=Tianyou|title=China: Five Thousand Years of History and Civilization|date=2007|publisher=City University of Hong Kong Press|location=Hong Kong|isbn=978-962-937-140-1|page=410}}</ref> Many products of brocade have been found in tombs of the era.<ref name=cgtyhc07/><ref>{{cite book|last1=Sullivan|first1=Michael|title=The Arts of China|date=1999|publisher=University of California Press|location=Berkeley|isbn=0-520-21876-0|edition=4th}}</ref> Several distinct styles of brocade have been developed in China, the most famous being [[Yunjin]] (Cloud brocade) of [[Nanjing]], Song brocade of [[Suzhou, Jiangsu|Suzhou]], and [[Sichuan embroidery|Shu brocade]] of [[Chengdu]].

===Southeast Asia===
[[Songket]] is a type of brocade in the [[Malay world|Malay]] world (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei etc.)

=== Byzantium ===
Dating back to the [[Middle Ages]], brocade fabric was one of the few luxury fabrics worn by nobility throughout [[China]], [[India]], [[Persia]], [[Greece]], [[Japan]], [[Korea]] and [[Byzantium]]. Woven by the Byzantines, brocades were an especially desirable fabric. From the 4th to the 6th centuries, production of [[silk]] was seemingly non-existent, as [[linen]] and [[wool]] were the predominant fabrics. During this period, there was no public knowledge of silk fabric production except for that which was kept secret by the Chinese. Over the years, knowledge of silk production became known among other cultures and spread westward. As silk production became known to Western cultures, trade from the East began to decrease. It was discovered by Byzantine historians that in the 6th century a pair of monks brought the secret of [[sericulture]] – silk production – to the Byzantine emperor. As a result, Western cultures were able to learn how to breed, raise, and feed [[silkworm]]s. From this point until the 9th century, Byzantium became the biggest and most central producer for all of the Western world in the production of all types of silk motifs, including brocades, [[damask]]s, [[brocatelle]]s and tapestry-like fabrics.<ref name=Byzantium>{{cite book|last=Tortora|first=Phyllis G.|title=Survey of Historic Costume|year=2009|publisher=Fairchild Books|location=New York|pages=110}}</ref>

During the [[Early Middle Ages]], brocade fabrics were available only to the wealthiest of people as the [[Byzantine emperor]] charged extreme prices for the fabric. The designs woven into brocade fabrics were often [[Persia]]n in origin. It was also common to see Christian subjects depicted in the complex weaves of the fabric. When these luxurious fabrics were made into clothing or wall hangings, they were at times adorned with precious and semiprecious stones, small medallions of [[enamel paint|enamel]], [[embroidery]] and [[appliqué]]s.<ref name=Byzantium />

=== The Late Middle Ages ===
Wealthy noblemen and noblewomen dressed in silk brocades from Italy, and [[velvet]]s trimmed with fur from [[Germany]]. During the 14th and 15th centuries, the Court of [[Duchy of Burgundy|Burgundy]] was made known for their continuous fashionable tastes and luxurious dress.<ref name="Late Middle Ages">{{cite book|last=Tortora|first=Phyllis G.|title=Survey of Historic Dress|year=2009|publisher=Fairchild Books|location=New York|pages=147–148}}</ref>

=== Renaissance Italy ===
{{refimprove section|date=May 2024}}
[[File:Giovanni Bellini - Portrait of Giovanni Emo - National Gallery of Art, Washington.jpg|thumb|upright|''The [[Condottiero|condotier]]'' by Italian Renaissance painter [[Giovanni Bellini]]]] 
Brocades were also an important fabric during the [[Renaissance]], and especially the [[Italian Renaissance]]. As wool and silk were the primary fabrics used by Europeans during the Renaissance, and despite the lack of documentary evidence, it is said{{whom|date=May 2024}} that due to the increase in complexity of decoration of Italian silk fabrics of the 15th century, there must have been improvements in silk-weaving looms around this time.{{or|date=May 2024}} The complexity and high quality of luxurious silk fabrics caused Italy to become the most important and superior manufacturer of the finest silk fabrics for all of Europe.{{fact|date=May 2024}} The almost sculptural lines of the fashions during the Renaissance were paired perfectly with the exquisite beauty and elegance of brocade, damask, and other superior silk textiles.<ref name=Italy>{{cite book|last=Tortora|first=Phyllis G.|title=Survey of Historic Dress|year=2009|publisher=Fairchild Books|location=New York|pages=183–184}}</ref>

== Modern uses ==
Brocade fabrics are mostly for [[upholstery]] and [[Drapery|draperies]]. They are also used for evening and formal clothing, for [[vestment]]s, as well as for costumes. In India, Banarasi brocade is extensively used in decorating [[Banarasi sari|Banarasi saris]], dresses, and [[dupatta|dupattas]]. The use of precious and semi-precious stones in the adornment of brocades is not common, but has been replaced by the use of [[sequin]]s and [[Beadwork|beading]]. Brocade fabrics are now largely woven on a [[Jacquard loom]] that is able to create many complex tapestry-like designs using the [[Jacquard weaving|Jacquard technique]]. Although many brocade fabrics look like tapestries and are advertised in some fashion promotions as such, they are not to be confused with true [[tapestries]]. Patterns such as brocade, brocatelle, damask and tapestry-like fabrics are known as jacquard patterns.<ref name=Brocade>{{cite book|last=Collier|first=Billie J.|title=Understanding Textiles|year=2009|publisher=Pearson Prentice Hall|location=Upper Saddle River, N.J.|pages=303}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery widths="220px" heights="220px">
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:Brocaded patterns of the traditional hajong Argon.jpg|Traditional [[Hajong people|Hajong]] brocade.
File:Isabelle De Strange, Brocade Costume, c. 1938, NGA 13643.jpg|Isabelle De Strange, Brocade Costume, c. 1938, [https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.13643.html NGA 13643]
</gallery>

== See also ==
* [[Acca cloth]]
* [[Banarasi sari]]
* [[Brocatelle]]
* [[Embroidery]]
* [[Meera Mehta]]
* [[Songket]]
* [[Zari]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Brocade paper (fragment), originally belonging to a sample book of J. M. Munck, Augsburg, 1751, [https://web.archive.org/web/20070423170649/http://libraries.theeuropeanlibrary.org/Netherlands/treasures_en.xml treasure 5], National Library of The Netherlands
* Marypaul Yates. ''Fabrics: A Guide for Interior Designers and Architects''. W. W. Norton & Co. {{ISBN|978-0393730623}}.
* Ventura, Carol. ''Maya Hair Sashes Backstrap Woven in Jacaltenango, Guatemala; Cintas Mayas tejidas con el telar de cintura en Jacaltenango, Guatemala'' {{In lang|en|es}}, 2003. {{ISBN|0-9721253-1-0}}.

== External links ==
* {{Wikiquote inline}}
* {{Commons category inline|Brocade}}

{{Fabric}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Figured fabrics]]