iron-gall ink, midād, hibr

Ingredients

gallnuts (Quercus infectoria), water, iron sulfate (FeSO4), green vitriol, gum arabic, egg white, qalqant

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

The treatise organizes inks by extraction method: boiling (decoction), squeezing, and infusion (p. 1). Recipe QI.2: Ground galls to 'chickpea' size, add 10x water, heat at 60 °C until 1/3 evaporates, filter, add gum arabic (5.25g) and iron sulfate (2.78g) (p. 11). Recipe QI.3: 1 ūqiyya galls in 1 raṭl water, boil until 1/3 evaporates, clarified, add 2 ūqiyya dissolved gum and vitriol (p. 8, 11). Recipe QI.4: 30 galls boiled in 3 raṭl water until half evaporates, clarified, add 5 dirham vitriol and 7 dirham gum, exposed to sun (p. 8, 12). Recipe QI.5: 1 mikyāl ground galls in 8 parts water, boil until 1/4 evaporates, filter, add vitriol and gum (p. 8, 12). Recipe QI.11: Galls ground like antimony powder, beaten in water with a fork to form foam, filtered, add crushed qalqant and gum (p. 8, 12). Recipe QI.12 (Mixed Ink): Combine ingredients, pulverize, sieve, grind with egg white and make pellets similar to hazelnuts (p. 7).

Evidence

"For the first time, this paper systematises the medieval preparation of black writing inks found in the important thirteenth century Andalusian technical treatise written by Muhammad ibn Idris ibn al-Qalalusi (1210–1308)."

Remarks

The study confirms that water-only extractions produce much lower yield than mixed solvents like wine or vinegar. Quantification by HPLC–DAD showed gallic acid as a minor compound, with gallotannins (pentagalloylglucose and hexagalloylglucose) comprising 50-79% of phenolics (p. 1, 9). Colorimetry (CIELAB) shows negative b* (blue) and positive a* (red) coordinates, perceived as dark bluish-blacks (p. 9). Raman identification bands for these inks are at 1470, 1315-1350, 490-640, and 400 cm-1 (p. 10). MicroFTIR identified marker bands for gallotannins at 1088–1082, 872–870, and 763–758 cm−1 (p. 10). Contextual use includes calligraphy for the 'educated class' (p. 3).