yellow arsenic (orpiment), indigo

Egypt
13th Century
Source: Raggetti, L. (2021). Ordinary Inks and Incredible Tricks in the ʿUyūn al-ḥaqāʾiq. In: Raggetti, L. (eds) Traces of Ink. Brill.
Recipe Details

Ingredients

yellow arsenic (orpiment), indigo, dissolved gum

Preparation Steps

One takes well-ground yellow arsenic (orpiment) and adds a quarter dirham of indigo for every mithqal of the arsenic (p. 168). The mixture is ground together until the desired green shade is achieved. Dissolved gum is then poured onto the mixture (p. 168).

Original Recipe Text

One takes well-ground yellow arsenic (orpiment) and adds a quarter dirham of indigo for every mithqal of the arsenic (p. 168). The mixture is ground together until the desired green shade is achieved. Dissolved gum is then poured onto the mixture (p. 168).

Evidence

"Take some well-ground yellow arsenic (orpiment), add a quarter dirham of indigo for each miṯqāl of it"

Remarks

This recipe is a classic example of achieving green by mixing mineral yellow (orpiment) with an organic blue (indigo) (p. 168).

Scientific Analysis
Analytical Techniques
Philological analysis
Certainty Level
Inferred
Instrumentally Verified
Not Verified
Metadata
Material Type
ink
Bindergum
ColorGreen
RegionEgypt
Approx. Year1250
Source Information
AuthorRaggetti, L.
CollectionʿUyūn al-ḥaqāʾiq
Language
N/A
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