white lead
Byzantium
14th Century
Source: Martelli, Matteo. "Late Byzantine Alchemical Recipe Books," pp. 356-360.
Recipe Details
Ingredients
Soda, white lead, milk, pure iron, pure silver
Preparation Steps
Soda, white lead, and milk are boiled together. Pure iron is boiled with these substances and dipped into the milk mixture seventy times. One exagion of this treated material is then melted with one exagion of pure silver to produce pure silver (p. 357).
Original Recipe Text
Soda, white lead, and milk are boiled together. Pure iron is boiled with these substances and dipped into the milk mixture seventy times. One exagion of this treated material is then melted with one exagion of pure silver to produce pure silver (p. 357).
Evidence
"Soda, white lead and milk, boil them together. Take pure iron and boil it well with these substances; dip it in that milk for seventy times."
Remarks
White lead is used here as an alchemical reagent rather than a surface pigment, participating in the transmutation of iron into a silver-like state (p. 357).
Scientific Analysis
Chemical Composition2PbCO3·Pb(OH)2
Analytical Techniques
Textual edition
Translation
Philological analysis
Certainty Level
Inferred
Instrumentally Verified
Not Verified
Metadata
Material Type
pigment
Bindermilk
ColorWhite
RegionByzantium
Approx. Year1350
Source Information
AuthorMartelli, Matteo. "Late Byzantine Alchemical Recipe Books," pp. 356-360.
CollectionLate Byzantine Alchemical Recipe Books (Recipe 3)
Language
N/A
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