المداد الأسود

Ingredients

عصف, سواد, علك

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

The recipe for black ink as specified in the Tanlay manuscript (p. 220) consists of a ratio of two parts caper/gallnut (عصف), one part soot (سواد), and four parts gum arabic (علك). The text notes that gum arabic is essential for binding and that soot provides the depth of blackness. Detailed instructions specify that if soot (as-Sawad) and gum (al-Alk) are used without gallnuts, the ink is suitable for certain paper types, whereas the presence of gallnuts/vitriol creates a 'cooked' ink better suited for parchment (al-Raq).

Evidence

"جزءان من عصف وجزء من سواد *** أربعة من علك تصلح المداد"

Remarks

The paper explores the manuscript 'Kitab al-Taqyid al-Majmu' by Yusuf b. 'Abd al-Hafiz al-Tanlay (d. 1078 AH). It highlights the local desert adaptation of ink chemistry in the Tuat region of Algeria. The black ink mentioned is distinguished between carbon-based (soot) and tannin-based (gallnut/vitriol), with the author noting that the choice of ink must match the surface (p. 216). Soot ink is preferred for paper because it lacks the acidity that causes paper corrosion, while gallnut inks are preferred for leather/parchment for their permanence (p. 215).