1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Damascening

DAMASCENING, or Damaskeening, a term sometimes applied to the production of damask steel, but properly the art of in-crusting wire of gold (and sometimes of silver or copper) on the surface of iron, steel or bronze. The surface upon which the pattern is to be traced is finely undercut with a sharp instrument, and the gold thread by hammering is forced into and securely held by the minute furrows of the cut surface. This system of ornamentation is peculiarly Oriental, having been much practised by the early goldsmiths of Damascus, and it is still eminently characteristic of Persian metal work.