sulphur, mercury, zarn¬ch, vitriol, alum

Ingredients

sulphur, mercury, zarn¬ch, arsenic, vitriol, alum, borax, salts

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

The text identifies substances known to ar-Razi and early alchemists as 'spirits' (arwah) and essential materials for color production: 'volatile substances, sulphur, mercury, zarnikh and sal ammoniac... then the different kinds of salts, borax, vitriol and alum' (p. 9). The treatise 'Mappae clavicula' specifically addresses the production of colors and dyeing through these alchemical substances (p. 10).

Evidence

"in the second edition of the famous treatise Mappae clavicula (on the production of colours and dyeing) some Arabic alchemistic terms occur. These and other elements... led to the assumption that they were interpolated in the first half of the 12th century."

Remarks

The presence of Arabic alchemistic terms in the Latin 'Mappae clavicula' suggests a direct transmission of pigment and dye technology from the Islamic world to the West, particularly through Spain or Sicily (p. 10-12). Zarnikh is explicitly identified as an alchemical 'spirit' alongside mercury and sulphur (p. 9).