black

Ingredients

gallnut, vitriol, gum arabic, water, honey, mica, pomegranate rind, Persian vitriol, yellow myrobalan

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

Ibn Badis provides several methods for producing black ink. One common recipe involves pulverizing one part gallnut, two parts gum, and one part vitriol, which are then fermented in water overnight (p. 21). A higher quality ink is made by soaking small gallnuts for four days, boiling the mixture until reduced, and then adding green vitriol and gum arabic (p. 21). A unique 'blackish' ink is produced through the distillation of bee honey, mica, and qalqand vitriol in a cucurbit and alembic; the distillate is then exposed to the sun for twenty days and combined with gum arabic to create a shiny, metallic finish (p. 24). For copy books, a recipe using thirty gallnuts cooked in water until reduced by a third is suggested, followed by the addition of five dirhams of vitriol and nine of gum (p. 21).

Evidence

"Thirty macerated gallnuts are taken. On them is poured three ratls of water. Then it is cooked on a low fire until one-third has disappeared. It is then clarified and on it is thrown five dirhams of vitriol and nine dirhams of gum arabic."

Remarks

The text emphasizes the importance of cooking duration and filtration. For instance, the 'proof' of a well-cooked ink is when a squeezed gallnut disintegrates (p. 21). Some inks are specialized for 'people of the sword' or for use in 'copy books' (p. 21-22). The inclusion of mica (talq) is noted for providing a shiny appearance once dry (p. 24, note 170). The transition between different vitriol types (green, blue, and Persian) suggests a high degree of empirical experimentation with metallic sulfates.