Damask Design – playing with light and shadow

30 January 2023 T/M 14 January 2024

Do you admire the graceful designs that appear almost magically in grazing light on a table covered with damask as much as we do? How do designers do this? In this exhibition, we dive into the damask design process, from the first sketch to the showpiece on the table.

The damasks in the collection of the TextielMuseum have beautiful scenes that subtly become visible in grazing light. Until 1900, the representations in the Netherlands were woven according to existing examples, which often can no longer be traced back to a single drawing hand or designer. In the early twentieth century, damask weavers commissioned artists to design artistic designs and representations. From then on we can follow the process from the first sketch to the final fabric. The TextielMuseum asks designers to design contemporary damask which gets woven in the TextielLab. It goes without saying that the creative processes are recorded and stored in the collection together with the results. In this exhibition, we show the design and production process for damask tableware. A unique story because of the appealing designers, the interesting history, the special application, the artistic and technical innovations and the intriguing weaving technique

Design: Glithero, photo: Joep Vogels
Design drawing 'Life of a Tuna Fish' by Scholten & Baijings
Napkin and design sketch 1913, designer Albert Maurice Lejeune, photo, Joep Vogels
Damask table linen designed by Chris Lebeau in 1906, photo: Josefina Eikenaar
Design by Cornelis van der Sluys in 1903-1971, photo: Joep Vogels

Limited edition fairytale damask for 70th anniversary Efteling

Efteling is joining forces with the TextielMuseum to develop a limited edition fairytale table linen collection to celebrate their 70th anniversary. The limited-edition table linen collection consisting of a tablecloth, table runner, napkins and tea towels is inspired by the fairytale forest and the damask collection of the TextielMuseum. In ‘Damask design’ you discover how the tablecloths were made by the designers of the Efteling and our experts in the TextielLab of the museum.

Damask from our own looms

Under the name by TextielMuseum, we create interior textiles designed by top designers and developed in the TextielLab of the museum. Our collection includes various contemporary damask designs by well-known names such as Scholten & Baijings, Minale Maeda, Peter Struycken and more.

View collection

exhibitions