minium

Ingredients

minium (saylaqūn), borax (bawraq), gum arabic (ṣamġ), solution of gall-nut (māʾ al-ʿafṣ)

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

The procedure for preparing pink ink (ḥabr wardī) as found in Al-muḫtaraʿ involves taking one ūqiyya of minium and crushing it thoroughly on a slab of stone. To this crushed base, the weight of one dirham of borax is added, along with two dirhams of gum arabic. The mixture is then kneaded until it achieves a fine consistency while being soaked in a solution of gall-nut (māʾ al-ʿafṣ). The final product is then ready for writing (p. 117-118).

Evidence

"The most common scheme is scanty and characterized by a set of textual elements referring to the definition of the product, the name of the ingredients and their quantity... Description of a pink ink... an ūqiyya of minium... and is crushed on a slab of stone... and it is added... the weight of a dirham of borax... and two dirhams of gum arabic... and it is kneaded until it becomes fine while it is soaked with a solution of gall-nut and it is written with it"

Remarks

The recipe follows a standard syntactical structure: starting verb, quantity, ingredient, operation, place, and result. This specific recipe is noted for its repetitive and telegraphic vocabulary (p. 117).