الذهب، الزاووق

Ingredients

الذهب, الزاووق

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

The decoration process (Tazwiq) involves a specific fire-gilding technique. Gold (الذهب) is mixed with a substance called 'al-Zawwuq' (mercury) to create a paintable mixture. This is applied to the manuscript (p. 334). The manuscript is then subjected to fire or intense heat, which causes the mercury to evaporate ('fly away'), leaving the gold permanently fixed to the surface as decoration (p. 334). This required precise knowledge of mixing ratios and extraction methods (p. 334).

Evidence

"والتزويق هو التحسين والتزيين، وهو مادة تجعل مع الذهب فيطلى به فيدخل في النار، فتطير المادة المعروفة بالزاووق، ويبقى الذهب"

Remarks

The term 'Mazawwiq' refers to an illuminator who uses gold and mercury for decoration (p. 334). In the Najd region, this task was frequently undertaken by the scribe (copyist) himself after completing the text (p. 334, 336). The author highlights the difficulty in identifying exact local sources for these materials due to limited mention in historical records (p. 335).