gold ink (māʾ al-dhahab)

Ingredients

gold

Evidence

"many early fragments of the → Qurʾan exhibit letters written in gold ink (māʾ al-dhahab) or are executed entirely in gold ink (→ Coloured inks and paints). A good example here is the so-called ‘Blue Qurʾan’ chrysographed on blue-tinted → parchment (Bloom 1989)"

Remarks

Chrysography (writing in gold letters) has origins in the Byzantine period and appears mostly in sumptuous Qurʾans and deluxe copies of some non-Qurʾanic texts. Despite initial theological reluctance, gold ink was adopted for early Qurʾanic fragments. (p. 61)