TY - CONF A1 - Rabin, Ira A1 - Hahn, Oliver T1 - Inks and pigments N2 - The writing materials used in various cultures and epochs can be divided into two groups. The first comprises materials that write themselves, producing script by rubbing their own material off onto the writing surface. It includes charcoal, graphite, chalk, raddle, and metal styluses. Depending on the material and consistency, these are cut or pressed to make styluses and then used for writing. The second group comprises all coloring liquids that are applied to the writing surface with a quill, pen, or printing block. It includes inks made from dye solutions (for example, tannin inks) and those made from pigment dispersions (for example, sepia, soot, and bister inks). The latter are sometimes also rubbed as pastes into letters incised into the writing surface, where they increase visual contrast. Due to the variety of recipes and the natural origin of raw materials, there is a wide range of different components and impurities in writing materials. Soluble inks (Tinten) Soluble inks are based mainly on dyes forming a water solution. Colored inks were manufactured with different plant or insect dyes (e.g. Brazil wood, kermes). To stabilize the volatile material, the dyes were mixed with a mordant (e.g., alum). Brown plant inks – best-known as blackthorn or Theophilus’ inks – are usually produced from the blackthorn bark and wine. In the early European Middle Ages, inks of this kind were widely used in the production of manuscripts in monasteries. Usually, they are light brown, so sometimes small amounts of iron sulfate were added, which led to what was called an “imperfect” iron gall ink. The difference between “classic” iron gall ink and such imperfect ink is therefore not clear: the distinction is not possible, especially with the naked eye. Dispersion inks (Tuschen) According to its generic recipe, one of the oldest black writing materials is produced by mixing soot with a binder dissolved in a small amount of water. Thus, along with soot, binders such as gum arabic (ancient Egypt) or animal glue (China) are among the main components of soot inks. From Pliny’s detailed account of the manufacture of various soot-based inks, we learn that, despite its seeming simplicity, producing pure soot of high quality was not an easy task in Antiquity. Therefore, we expect to find various detectable additives that might be indicative of the time and place of production. One such carbon ink requires the addition of copper sulfate . The experimental discovery of this ink in 1990 led to a misleading expression “metal ink” that is sometimes found in the literature. Colored dispersion inks based on pigments such as orpiment, cinnabar, or azurite have been known since Antiquity. Natural or artificially produced minerals are finely ground and dispersed in a binding medium. As in soot inks, water-soluble binders such as gum arabic or egg white were used. Iron gall ink (Eisengallustinten) Iron gall inks are a borderline case between these two groups. They are produced from four basic ingredients: galls, vitriol as the main source of iron, gum arabic as a binding media, and an aqueous medium such as wine, beer, or vinegar. By mixing gallic acid with iron sulfate, a water-soluble ferrous gallate complex is formed; this product belongs to the type “soluble inks”. Due to its solubility, the ink penetrates the writing support’s surface, making it difficult to erase. Exposure to oxygen leads to the formation of insoluble black ferric gallate pigment, i.e., “dispersion ink”. Natural vitriol consists of a varying mixture of metal sulfates. Since for ink making it was obtained from different mines and by various techniques, inks contain many other metals, like copper, aluminum, zinc, and manganese, in addition to the iron sulfate. These metals do not contribute to color formation in the ink solution, but possibly change the chemical properties of the inks. T2 - Summer School Manusciences 19 CY - Frejus, France DA - 10.03.2019 KW - Ink KW - Material science KW - Cultural heritage PY - 2019 AN - OPUS4-48139 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Nöller, Renate T1 - Scientific analysis of the Humboldt fragments N2 - The presented Humboldt Codices are from the early colonial period of Mexico and originate from different localities 1. typical indigen colors and mixtures: cochineal (red), indigo (blue and green), carbon (black), mangle, zacatlaxcalli, organic (brown, yellow)- critical! 2. colonial influence: iron gall ink for writing 3. single fragments belong together: are cut (fragments IX-XII), from Mizquahuala distributed (VII, XIII, XIV, [XV]) (VII, XIII in Mexico, XIV in Paris) T2 - Workshop: Manuscripta Americana: Aufarbeitung einer Sammlung; Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin - PK CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 14. Februar 2019 KW - Humboldt Codices KW - XRF-, VIS- FTIR-spectroscopy KW - Dyes PY - 2019 AN - OPUS4-47589 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Nehring, Grzegorz A1 - Pronobis-Gajdzis, M. A1 - Targowski, P. A1 - Rabin, Ira T1 - What should we take into an account in the characterization of iron-gall ink by means of X-ray fluorescence? N2 - The earliest known recipes for iron gall inks include four basic ingredients: oak galls – pathological growths of oak leaves; metal salts – usually referred to as vitriol; a binder such as gum Arabic; and water. The final product differs in the elemental composition due to the multitude of recipes as well as differences within the composition of the ink’s ingredients. Nowadays, based on the qualitative and semi-quantitative evaluation of X-ray fluorescence data, it is possible to distinguish inks on the basis of the so-called fingerprint model. The first goal of our study was to determine to what extent the type of XRF spectrometer affects the quality of the ink evaluation. We tested two types of spectrometers, semi-stationary machines equipped with polycapillary focusing optics and a handheld spectrometer with a diaphragm collimator and a relatively big interaction spot. The second goal was to address the issue of whether the ink composition might be affected by storage in a metal container. The presentation will discuss the role of the spectrometer type in the evaluation of a thin layer material such as ink. We have also learned that the iron-gall ink composition might depend on the type of vessel in which ink was being stored. T2 - Konferenz - XIV IADA Congress - Warsaw 2019 CY - Warsaw, Poland DA - 23.09.2019 KW - Iron-gall ink KW - XRF KW - Inkwells KW - Ink composition PY - 2019 AN - OPUS4-49149 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Melzer, C. A1 - Wintermann, C. A1 - Hahn, Oliver A1 - Golle, U. A1 - Ketelsen, T. A1 - Dietz, Georg T1 - Red chalk as a medium of transfer in dutch and flemish drawings N2 - The Weimar research project has set the goal of placing style-critical research on Old Master drawings on a new, methodologically proven foundation. The starting point is the stock of Dutch drawings possessed by the Klassik Stiftung Weimar, whose extent (ca. 1,400 items) and character make it one of the most significant outside the Netherlands. The focus here is on drawings that were executed with red chalk. This drawing material has different functions - one of which is the use as a transmission material. The methodological approach is double: first, the scientific indexing of this stock. The foundations for this, along with classic analysis of style, are innovative material-scientific methods of investigation. T2 - Red Chalk Drawings. Sources, Techniques and Styles c. 1500-1800 CY - Florence, Italy DA - 18.09.2019 KW - Drawing KW - Red chalk KW - Non-destructiv testing PY - 2019 AN - OPUS4-50240 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Horn, Wolfgang T1 - Selection of low emittiong material for the construction of display cases based on the BEMMA procedure N2 - Museums worldwide are equipped with different display cases. Exhibit display cases should protect cultural objects from dust as well as from mechanical and physical damage. To ensure a stable climate inside the display cases, a low air exchange rate is maintained. Typically air exchange rates are often smaller than 0.1 d 1, which can result in rising concentrations of potential harmful immissions inside of the display cases due to emissions from materials. Especially high concentrations of organic acids, which can emit from e.g. sealing materials, can produce damage of cultural objects. In 2012 BAM introduced a procedure witch is called: BEMMA-Scheme (Bewertung von Emissionen aus Materialien für Museumsausstattungen) which stands for: “Assessment of Emissions from Materials for Museum Equipment”. Micro chambers are used for VOC emission tests of display case construction materials, e.g. textiles, plastics, sealing material, coatings and others. Each sampling procedure is carried out in duplicate. Emissions like formic acid, acetic acid, formaldehyde and oximes are excluded and the sum of emissions of VVOCs, VOCs and SVOCs is limited. For a positive assessment all listed criteria must be fulfilled; otherwise the display construction material fails the BEMMA scheme. The BEMMA scheme is not a guarantee for an emission free display case, but a necessary requirement for the choice of suitable materials for emission and immission reduced display cases. T2 - Materials Testing Symposium CY - New York City, USA DA - 06.11.2019 KW - Museum KW - Emission KW - Dispay case KW - BEMMA KW - VOC PY - 2019 AN - OPUS4-49589 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Hahn, Oliver A1 - Wintermann, C. A1 - Dietz, Georg A1 - Golle, U. A1 - Ketelsen, T. A1 - Melzer, C. T1 - Braune Tinten – Geschichte und Materialität N2 - Eine Vielzahl unterschiedlicher Materialien findet für die Gestaltung von Zeichnungen Verwendung. So sind es insbesondere „braune Tinten“, welche die Zeichnungen dominieren. Der Vortrag möchte zunächst einen kurzen Überblick über die Terminologie und die Kunsttechnologie farbiger Tinten geben, um den Kosmos dieser Vielfältigkeit und auch deren Vergänglichkeit zu illustrieren. Der zweite Teil des Vortrags ist dann den sogenannten Bistertinten und deren analytischen Nachweisen gewidmet. Es handelt sich um Zeichentinten, die aus den wasserlöslichen Bestandteilen von Kaminruß gewonnen werden. Die farbliche Bandbreite reicht von gelb-orange bis braun. Zuweilen wurden diese Tinten mit weiteren Pigmenten versetzt, um eine bestimmte Farbtiefe zu erzielen. T2 - 29. Treffen der Grafikrestauratoren CY - Weimar, Germany DA - 25.10.2019 KW - Zerstörungsfreie Prüfung KW - Zeichenmaterialien KW - Archäometrie PY - 2019 AN - OPUS4-49731 LA - deu AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Hahn, Oliver T1 - Paper: history, manufacture, properties N2 - The lecture traces the origins of paper, the manufacture and the spread from China to the Middle East and Europe. Though technological progress considerably affected each step of the manufacture of paper, the essence of the invention remains unchanged until today. The process of manufacturing handmade paper can be divided into a number of steps: - choosing the raw material (e.g. cellulose from wood, cotton, rags) - beating and grinding the fibres into small pieces - producing a liquid pulp of the desired texture - treating the pulp with various additives - filling the pulp suspension into a paper mould - draining the water - pressing and drying to get the actual sheet - various post-production treatments We will see how the manufacturing process is reflected in the properties of the paper and its degradation. A special attention will be paid to the instrumental analysis for identification of the paper types. Also watermark play an important role in the studies of the manuscripts. A short overview will be offered at the ends of the lecture. T2 - Summer School Manusciences 19 CY - Frejus, France DA - 10.03.2019 KW - Material science KW - Cultural heritage PY - 2019 AN - OPUS4-48140 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Hahn, Oliver T1 - Zerstörungsfreie Prüfverfahren zur Authentifizierung von Manuskripten und Zeichnungen – Möglichkeiten und Grenzen N2 - Untersuchungen von Zeichnungen und Manuskripten mit zerstörungsfreien Methoden haben in den letzten Jahren enorm zugenommen. Die nicht-invasiven Analysen ermöglichen Informationen zur Herkunft, zum Herstellungsprozess und möglicherweise zum Alter (direkte Dating nicht möglich, Ausnahme: Papierstruktur, Wasserzeichen). Die zerstörungsfreien Analysen können Rückschlüsse auf mögliche Fälschungen geben, sind neben den offensichtlichen Vorteilen jedoch auch mit einzelnen Limitierungen behaftet. Der Vortrag soll anhand einiger Fallbeispiele die Möglichkeiten aber auch Grenzen bei der zerstörungsfreien (mobilen) Auffindung von Fälschungen aufzeigen. T2 - PTS Workshop"Materialwissenschaftliche Untersuchungsmethodenzur Charakterisierung und Authentifizierung von Dokumenten und Kunstwerken auf Papier" CY - Heidenau, Germany DA - 07.11.2019 KW - ZfP KW - Authentifizierung KW - Papier PY - 2019 AN - OPUS4-49666 LA - deu AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Ghigo, Tea A1 - Rabin, Ira A1 - Buzi, P. T1 - Archaeometric analysis of inks from Coptic Manucripts N2 - Understanding the technological evolution of inks from Coptic Manuscripts. T2 - III International PAThs Conference CY - Rome, University of La Sapienza, Italy DA - 25.02.2019 KW - Archaeometry PY - 2019 AN - OPUS4-48037 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Ghigo, Tea A1 - Rabin, Ira A1 - Buzi, Paola T1 - Archaeometric analysis of Egyptian inks from Late Antiquity N2 - Presentation of the results obtained on a corpus of Egyptian papyri from Late Antiquity T2 - Research Showcase: studying Greco-Roman Egypt CY - University of Basel, Switzerland DA - 26.09.2019 KW - Ink KW - Archaeometry KW - Manuscripts KW - Coptic PY - 2019 AN - OPUS4-49969 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Ghigo, Tea A1 - Rabin, Ira A1 - Buzi, Paola T1 - Análisis arqueométrico de tintas N2 - Análisís arquéometrico de tintas de manuscritos Egipcios T2 - IX Jornadas de Papirología CY - Abadía de Montserrat, Spain DA - 08.07.2019 KW - Coptic KW - Archaeometry KW - Ink KW - Manuscripts PY - 2019 AN - OPUS4-49970 LA - spa AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Ghigo, Tea A1 - Rabin, Ira A1 - Buzi, Paola T1 - Archaeometric analisis of Egyptian inks from Late Antiquity N2 - Archaeometric analisis of Egyptian inks from Late Antiquity: presentation of the results obtaine on a curpus of literary and documentary manuscripts. T2 - International congress of papyrology CY - Lecce, Italy DA - 28.07.2019 KW - Coptic KW - Archaeometry KW - Ink KW - Manuscripts PY - 2019 AN - OPUS4-49971 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Dietz, Georg T1 - Sieb und Filz - Entwicklungsgeschichtliche Meilensteine des Papiermaschinenbaus / der Papiermaschinenbespannungen N2 - Im Jahr 2019 jährt sich die Inbetriebnahme der ersten Papiermaschine in Deutschland zum 200. Male. Mit dem Vortrag wird eine Einführung in die Technologie der Maschinenpapierherstellung, samt entwicklungsgeschichtlicher Meilensteine gegeben. Es gilt die Produktvielfalt von Papier und die Gründe für die enormen Produktionssteigerungen bei der Papierherstellung aufzuzeigen. T2 - 27. Tagung des Deutschen Arbeitskreises für Papiergeschichte CY - Düren, Germany DA - 24.10.2019 KW - Papier KW - ZfP KW - Archäometrie PY - 2019 AN - OPUS4-50633 LA - deu AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Dietz, Georg T1 - Papieranalysen für die kunstgeschichtliche Forschung N2 - Wasserzeichen und Papierstrukturen können einen wesentlichen Beitrag bei der Analyse von Kunstobjekten auf Papier darstellen. An Fallbeispielen aus der gutachterlichen Praxis und Forschungsprojekten der Vergangenheit sollen die Möglichkeiten der Papier- und Wasserzeichenforschung bei Datierungen und Authentizitätsprüfungen demonstriert werden. T2 - PTS-Workshop in Heidenau zu Thema: Materialwissenschaftliche Untersuchungsmethoden zur Charakterisierung und Authentifizierung von Dokumenten und Kunstwerken auf Papier CY - Dreden-Heidenau, Germany DA - 07.11.2019 KW - Papier KW - Fälschungserkennung KW - ZfP PY - 2019 AN - OPUS4-50634 LA - deu AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Colini, Claudia A1 - Sturkenboom, I. T1 - Analyses of paper, tinting and illumination in persian manuscripts held in the Golestan Palace library N2 - In the 15th century, Persian manuscripts underwent significant and lasting changes. Possibly as a response to the import of tinted and gold-decorated paper from China, which was used for manuscript production in Greater Iran, Persian papers were also tinted and embellished with gold-decorated and marbled margins or frames. In a joint project between CSMC and the University of St Andrews, and in co-operation with the Golestan Palace Museum, we aim to analyse papers and their decorations in manuscripts in the holdings of the Golestan Palace Library. The analyses aim to determine the consistencies of papers, pigments and metals and the techniques used for their production and application. The support will be first described in its codicological characteristics such as dimensions, thickness, colour (expressed in colour coordinates), pattern left from the sieve (observed in transmitted light). The plant used as raw material in paper production will be studied by fibres analysis, while the sizing agents, the pigments, dyes and metals will be analysed by the application of several methods: in particular Reflectography, X-Ray Fluorescence and InfraRed, Raman and Visible Reflectance Spectroscopy. The results of the analyses will be published in an online database that will form an important resource for the material aspects of Persian manuscripts and be a starting point for establishing a first chronology of the materials and techniques used in Persian manuscript production. T2 - DFG workshop at Golestan Palace CY - Tehran, Iran DA - 07.04.2019 KW - Persian manuscripts KW - Chinese paper KW - Non destructive analytical techniques KW - Tinting KW - Gold PY - 2019 AN - OPUS4-50164 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Colini, Claudia A1 - Sturkenboom, I. T1 - Chinese paper in Persian manuscript: Preliminary results of a of a codicological, technological and scientific study N2 - In the 15th century, Persian manuscripts underwent significant and lasting changes. Possibly as a response to the import of tinted and gold-decorated paper from China, which was used for manuscript production in Greater Iran, Persian papers were also tinted and embellished with gold-decorated and marbled margins or frames. In a joint project between CSMC and the University of St Andrews, we aim to analyse papers and their decorations in Persian The analyses aim to determine the consistencies of papers, pigments and metals and the techniques used for their production and application. The support will be first described in its codicological characteristics such as dimensions, thickness, colour (expressed in colour coordinates), pattern left from the sieve (observed in transmitted light). The plant used as raw material in paper production will be studied by fibres analysis, while the sizing agents, the pigments, dyes and metals will be analysed by the application of several methods: in particular Reflectography, X-Ray Fluorescence and InfraRed, Raman and Visible Reflectance Spectroscopy. The results of the analyses will form an important resource for the material aspects of Persian manuscripts and be a starting point for establishing a first chronology of the materials and techniques used in Persian manuscript production. An example of the application of the techniques on the analysis of a fragment from a 15th c. Persian Manuscript will be provided. T2 - The Second International Seminar on Traditional Writing and Printing Materials (Fudan University) CY - Shanghai, Republic of China DA - 12.11.2019 KW - Persian manuscript KW - Chinese paper KW - Paper tinting KW - UV-VIS reflectance spectroscopy KW - XRF KW - ATR PY - 2019 AN - OPUS4-50131 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Colini, Claudia T1 - Ink for papyri, ink of papyrus: Recipes from the Arabic world N2 - Papyrus was in use in the Islamic world until the 11th century and few ink recipes collected from treatises about the art of the books are dedicated to this support. But papyrus was also burnt in order to obtain soot used as an ingredient for a particular type of ink (midād al-qarāṭīs). In this talk I will give an overview of the recipes – in particular those by ar-Rāzī –, their context and transmission in order to evaluate this double nature of papyrus, which is considered at the same time a writing support and a material to be recycled. Moreover, I will discuss what kinds of ink are most likely to be found, according to these literary sources, on Arabic manuscripts and documents written on papyrus and compare them to the typologies mentioned for paper and parchment. These results are the premises of a research project starting at the beginning of 2019, in which a number of dated fragments from several European institutions will be analysed with non-destructive techniques in order to establish a profile of the main writing media used in the early centuries of the Islamic Era. T2 - 29th International Congress of Papyrology CY - Lecce, Italy DA - 28.07.2019 KW - Inks KW - Arabic recipes KW - Papyrus PY - 2019 AN - OPUS4-50158 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Colini, Claudia T1 - Fifty shades of black: Typologies and terminology of black inks in the light of new discoveries N2 - The identification of the materials constituting an artefact is the basis of any correct conservation project. For this reason (among others) in the last 50 years analytical techniques have been applied to the study of manuscripts. Unfortunately, the scientific investigation of Arabic books is still uncommon, focusing mainly on single case studies of illuminated manuscripts where the black media used to write the text is largely overlooked. This lack of knowledge prompted a recent research in which black ink recipes have been collected from written Arabic sources, their feasibility has been assessed, and some of them have been reproduced. These samples were artificially aged and analysed through an array of analytical techniques, mostly non-invasive and non-destructive, in order to build a database of Arabic inks and their ingredients and to verify the detection limits of the equipment employed. Finally, the results were compared to the data collected from historical manuscripts. In this talk I will focus on the ink typologies and the terminology (ancient and modern) used to describe them. In particular I will highlight how even the modern classification fails to capture the variety encountered in both recipes and manuscripts, particularly in the light of recent discoveries. I will address especially the terminological and conceptual issues of mixed inks – in the form of carbon inks and tannins, of carbon and iron gall inks, and of carbon and metallic salts –, iron gall inks made without vitriol and iron gall inks made with sources of tannins different from gall nuts. T2 - First International Conference Oriental Manuscripts: Codicology and Conservation issues CY - Saint Petersburg, Russia DA - 04.12.2019 KW - Ink terminology KW - Codicology KW - Non destructive analytical techniques PY - 2019 AN - OPUS4-50159 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Colini, Claudia T1 - Ink recipes from the islamic era: Texts, manuscripts, ink reproductions and scientific analyses N2 - Ink recipes can often be found in Arabic manuscripts. They may be included in treatises of diverse subjects – from handbooks for secretaries or calligraphers to books on arts and crafts, to alchemical and astrological essays. Recipes can also appear, with or without relation to the main text in the manuscript, in the form of lists or collections or even added in empty spaces as single entries. Why were these recipes written down? Were they used by the many professionals dealing with inks in their every-day work? Or were they part of the literary genre of adab with little or no practical application? To answer these questions a research project was set up: ink recipes have been collected from written Arabic sources, their feasibility has been assessed and some of them have been reproduced. These samples were artificially aged and analysed through an array of analytical techniques, most non-invasive and non-destructive, and the results compared to the data obtained by the application of the same analyses on concrete manuscripts. The codicological characteristics of the manuscripts have also been studied. My aim in this talk is to show how such an interdisciplinary approach could be beneficial for the study of material culture. T2 - Broadening Horizons 6 CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 24.06.2019 KW - Inks KW - Arabic Recipes KW - Non destructive analytical techniques PY - 2019 AN - OPUS4-50160 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Colini, Claudia T1 - Analyses of decorated papers: Potential and preliminary results on persianate manuscripts from 15th – 17th centuries N2 - This talk will be divided into two parts. In the first part I will present the analytical techniques and the equipment used by the Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures that can be applied for the study of decorated papers. The analyses aim to determine the constituent materials of papers, pigments, dyes and metals and the techniques used for their production. I will focus in particular on the kind of information these techniques allow us to gather: through optical microscopy we conduct fibre analysis in order to identify the plant used as raw material in paper production while Reflectography, X-Ray Fluorescence and InfraRed, Raman and Visible Reflectance Spectroscopy are used to study the sizing agents, the pigments, dyes and metals. In the second part I will show some results obtained by the application of these techniques on a few Persianate manuscripts, dating between the 15th and 17th centuries, belonging to the corpus of Ilse Sturkenboom. T2 - Symposium Decorated Paper in Early Modern Islamic Cultures CY - Istanbul, Turkey DA - 23.11.2019 KW - XRF KW - UV-VIS Reflectance spectroscopy KW - Fibre analysis KW - Persian manuscripts KW - Chinese Paper KW - FTIR spectroscopy PY - 2019 AN - OPUS4-50161 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -