Photo of Hanging, 17th century - Public domain dedication

Islamic art refers to the visual arts that were produced in the Islamic world, which encompasses a vast geographical area stretching from Spain and North Africa in the west to Central Asia and India in the east. Islamic art is characterized by its focus on religious themes and its emphasis on the representation of spiritual truths. Islamic art is also known for its distinctive aesthetic features, including the use of calligraphy, geometric patterns, and arabesque designs. Islamic art covers a wide range of media, including architecture, painting, calligraphy, ceramics, and textiles. In the narrowest sense, the arts of the Islamic peoples might be said to include only those arising directly from the practice of Islam. More commonly, however, the term is extended to include all of the arts produced by Muslim peoples, whether connected with their religion or not. In this article, the subject includes the arts created in pre-Islamic times by Arabs and other peoples in Asia Minor and North Africa who eventually adopted the Islamic faith.

Damasks are woven by periodically reversing the action of the warp and weft threads. The pattern is most commonly created with a warp-faced satin weave and the ground with a weft-faced or sateen weave. Fabrics used to create damasks include silk, wool, linen, cotton, and synthetic fibers, but damask is best shown in cotton and linen. Over time, damask has become a broader term for woven fabrics with a reversible pattern, not just silks. There are a few types of damask: true, single, compound, and twill. True damask is made entirely of silk. Single damask has only one set of warps and wefts and thus is made of up to two colors. Compound damask has more than one set of warps and wefts and can include more than two colors. Twill damasks include a twill-woven ground or pattern.