indigo, Prussian blue, red lead, carbon-based black, lead white, lazurite, orpiment, malachite, vermilion, gold

Ingredients

indigo, Prussian blue, red lead, carbon-based black, lead white, lazurite, orpiment, malachite, vermilion, gold

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

Indigo used for the dark blue grounds of the 18th-century frames (p. 1492). Prussian blue, a synthetic pigment introduced in the early 18th century, used for blue frames (p. 1492). Red lead for orange pigments; carbon-based black and lead white for black and white frames (p. 1492). Diacritics on original 11th-century leaves contain vermilion, lazurite, orpiment, and malachite (p. 1492). Gold leaf/paint used for ruled frames and floral scroll patterns (p. 1485).

Evidence

"The dark blue ground had the typical appearance of indigo, and its characteristic bands at 1584, 1575, 599, and 546 cm1 were detected. (p. 1492) ... The material employed for the blue of the frame is Prussian blue (Fe4[Fe(CN)6]3 . 14–16 H2O)... its Raman spectrum shows characteristic bands at 2154, 2102, 538, and 282 cm1. (p. 1492)"

Remarks

This album contains 11th-century Qur'an leaves set into 18th-century paper frames (p. 1485). Prussian blue is noted as the earliest known modern synthetic pigment, introduced to Iran in the mid-18th century (p. 1492). 11th-century diacritics were color-coded (red vowels, green hamzat al-qat', blue shaddah, yellow alternative readings) (p. 1485).