one-quarter ‘Baghdādī’ size, cream-coloured with a slight pinkish hue, smooth and moderately burnished

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

The paper size was identified as one-quarter ‘Baghdādī’ based on measurements of 495mm x 335mm (p. 72). Thickness was calculated by measuring ten gathered sheets, which equaled approximately 2mm (p. 73). Laid lines were observed horizontally, with twenty lines measuring a total of 28mm (p. 73).

Evidence

"The main paper of the Mas̲navī is cream-coloured with a slight pinkish hue, and is smooth and moderately burnished. Twenty horizontal laid lines measure a total of 28mm, and ten gathered sheets measure approximately 2mm in thickness."

Remarks

The paper is smooth and moderately burnished. From folio 159 to folio 229, a similar but much pinker paper is intermixed with the main paper (p. 73). Sheila Blair notes that the paper was likely produced in Tabriz rather than Anatolia (p. 72).