Saffron, Indigo, Henna, Mallow, Red onion skin

Ingredients

Crocus sativus, Indigofera tinctoria, Lawsonia inermis, Althea officinalis, Red onion skin

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

Mock-up samples prepared using recipes from historical treatises including 'The art of bibliopegy in Islamic civilization' by Nadjib Māyel Heravi and 'Gulistan-i Hunar' (Rose Garden of Art) by Qāżi Aḥmad Qomi (p. 16, Section 4-2). Specifically includes Saffron (p. 72), Indigo (p. 73), Mallow (p. 75), Red onion skin (p. 77), and Henna (p. 78).

Evidence

"to compensate for this lack I have started to create the FORS & FOMF spectral database of some dyes possibly employed in Persian manuscripts (Chapter 4). In order to build up a spectral database devoted to dyes... a set of mock-up samples was prepared based on natural dyestuffs indicated in the comprehensive book, 'The art of bibliopegy in Islamic civilization,' by Nadjib Māyel Heravi and also 'Gulistan-i Hunar'."

Remarks

Dyes like lac dye were also verified using HPLC-MS/MS analysis carried out by Fabio Gosetti at UPO-DISIT (p. 10). These mock-ups serve as the standard for identifying unknown organic colorants in 15th-century manuscripts (p. 16, 20).