A black ink by any other name...: Typologies of Arabic inks and their detection limits
- In this poster we will present some results of a research projects dealing with Arabic recipes of black inks. To improve conservation practices of Arabic manuscripts we have assessed the feasibility of the recipes collected from many Arabic sources on bookmaking and reproduced the most common inks. Ink samples were then artificially aged and analysed using an array of analytical techniques, mostly non-invasive, in order to build a database of Arabic inks and their ingredients and also to verify the detection limits of the portable equipment employed.
First, we will provide an overview of the sources [1-2] employed in the study – dating from 9th to 14th century, although the manuscripts in which they can be found dates up to the 20th century – with an eye on the ink typologies (real and perceived by the compilers). Then we will show how, by reproducing the recipes, it was possible to shed light on some oddities in the procedures and the choice of ingredients. In the end we willIn this poster we will present some results of a research projects dealing with Arabic recipes of black inks. To improve conservation practices of Arabic manuscripts we have assessed the feasibility of the recipes collected from many Arabic sources on bookmaking and reproduced the most common inks. Ink samples were then artificially aged and analysed using an array of analytical techniques, mostly non-invasive, in order to build a database of Arabic inks and their ingredients and also to verify the detection limits of the portable equipment employed.
First, we will provide an overview of the sources [1-2] employed in the study – dating from 9th to 14th century, although the manuscripts in which they can be found dates up to the 20th century – with an eye on the ink typologies (real and perceived by the compilers). Then we will show how, by reproducing the recipes, it was possible to shed light on some oddities in the procedures and the choice of ingredients. In the end we will discuss problems concerning the identification of ink types and ingredients using reflectography (in Vis, IR and UV), X-Ray Fluorescence, Infrared and Raman spectroscopy. The focus will be in particular on mixed inks – both in the form of carbon inks with the addition of tannins and of a mixture of carbon and iron gall inks – which are particularly difficult to detect [3]. We will also examine the results of iron gall inks made with iron filings or nails instead of vitriol and the various precursor used to extract gallic acid that are mentioned in the sources as surrogates of gall nuts.
[1] A. Schopen, Tinten und Tuschen des arabisch-islamischen Mittelalters, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2004
[2] S. Fani, Le arti del libro secondo le fonti arabe originali. I ricettari arabi per la fabbricazione degli inchiostri (sec. IX-XIII): loro importanza per una corretta valutazione e conservazione del patrimonio manoscritto, PhD thesis, Napoli: Università L’Orientale, 2013
[3] C. Colini et. al, Manuscript cultures, 11 (2018) 43-50…
Autor*innen: | Claudia Colini |
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Weitere Person: | Oliver Hahn, Ira Rabin |
Dokumenttyp: | Posterpräsentation |
Veröffentlichungsform: | Präsentation |
Sprache: | Englisch |
Jahr der Erstveröffentlichung: | 2019 |
Organisationseinheit der BAM: | 4 Material und Umwelt |
4 Material und Umwelt / 4.5 Kunst- und Kulturgutanalyse | |
DDC-Klassifikation: | Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / Chemie / Analytische Chemie |
Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften / Ingenieurwissenschaften / Ingenieurwissenschaften und zugeordnete Tätigkeiten | |
Freie Schlagwörter: | ATR; Inks; Raman Spectroscopy; Reflectography; XRF |
Themenfelder/Aktivitätsfelder der BAM: | Chemie und Prozesstechnik |
Material | |
Veranstaltung: | Technart 2019 |
Veranstaltungsort: | Bruges, Belgium |
Beginndatum der Veranstaltung: | 07.05.2019 |
Enddatum der Veranstaltung: | 10.05.2019 |
Verfügbarkeit des Dokuments: | Datei im Netzwerk der BAM verfügbar ("Closed Access") |
Datum der Freischaltung: | 19.12.2019 |
Referierte Publikation: | Nein |