Damascening

Damascening is a metalworking technique in which fine wires or thin sheets of a precious metal, typically gold or silver, are inlaid into a base metal, most often steel or iron, prepared with a fine crosshatched or roughened surface texture so the softer precious metal grips and holds when hammered into the grooves, producing an intricate decorative pattern on the harder metal's surface. Named for its long association with the city of Damascus, though practiced across the Islamic world, Japan (where it is known as zogan), and Renaissance Europe, damascening was traditionally used to decorate armor, sword furniture, and small ornamental objects, and the craft survives today as a traditional handicraft in cities including Toledo, Spain.