بقم (Brazilwood)

Ingredients

بقم (Brazilwood), ماء (Water), قلي (Alkali/Potash), ملح (Salt), شب (Alum)

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

An ounce of high-quality brazilwood is crushed and soaked in water for a day and night. It is boiled in a polished copper pot with ten pounds of water, one dirham of alkali (qali), and one dirham of crushed salt until the water is reduced by half. The mixture is filtered through a cloth. Alum is added to the filtrate to fix the color. Leather or paper is then immersed in this dye multiple times to achieve the desired shade of red (p. 161-162).

Evidence

"والأصباغ أصناف : فمنها أن تأخذ أوقية بقم أجود ما تقدر عليه ... فتنقعها في ماء ليلة أو يوماً ، ثم تدعها في قدر من نحاس مجلو نظيف ، ثم تصب عليها عشرة أرطال ماء ، وترمي فيها وزن درهم قلياً وزن درهم ملحاً مدقوقاً"

Remarks

The text specifies two types of brazilwood: 'al-Sufayri' and 'al-Amiri'. The use of alum as a mordant is explicitly mentioned to stabilize the organic red colorant on the substrate (p. 161).