gold leaf

Ingredients

gold leaf

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

The letterforms were constructed by cutting gold leaf into specific shapes and laying them onto a flat, colored ground layer (p. 77). This method differs from liquid chrysography where gold powder is applied as an ink. The pieces of gold leaf were laid edge-to-edge or on a specific ground layer to form Kufic characters (p. 77, 78).

Evidence

"Letterforms in the Getty Qur’an leaves were constructed from carefully cut pieces of gold leaf laid onto a pale orange ground (found by XRF to contain an iron oxide) and outlined with an iron-gall ink"

Remarks

This example of Kufic chrysography from a ninth-century fragment (83.MM.118) demonstrates a high level of material consciousness. The technique of cutting gold leaf to shape, rather than writing with liquid gold ink, allowed for a distinct surface effect that minimized the visibility of metallic grains (p. 77, 79).