gold leaf

Egypt
14th Century
Source: Porter, Cheryl. "The Science of Color: Color Analysis and the Roles of Economics, Geography, and Tradition in the Artist’s Choice of Colors for Manuscript Painting." In: And Diverse Are Their Hues: Color in Islamic Art and Culture (Eds. Sheila Blair and Jonathan Bloom), Yale University Press, 2011.
Recipe Details

Ingredients

gold, binder

Preparation Steps

The gold leaf is applied immediately over a binder directly onto the paper substrate (p. 8). It is then 'highly burnished to reflect the light' (p. 8). The author notes it is of the 'highest quality' (p. 8).

Original Recipe Text

The gold leaf is applied immediately over a binder directly onto the paper substrate (p. 8). It is then 'highly burnished to reflect the light' (p. 8). The author notes it is of the 'highest quality' (p. 8).

Evidence

"The gold leaf is elegantly applied immediately over a binder onto the paper substrate itself. This is quite unlike a Western manuscript of the same period and of equivalent dimension and prestige, where one would expect to see gold applied over a ground of chalk, or gesso, onto a parchment substrate. The gold has been highly burnished to reflect the light."

Remarks

Unlike Western manuscripts which used a chalk or gesso ground on parchment, this Mamluk technique involves direct application to paper (p. 8).

Scientific Analysis
Chemical CompositionAu
Analytical Techniques
visual analysis
Certainty Level
Inferred
Instrumentally Verified
Not Verified
Metadata
Material Type
pigment
Binderbinder
Paper Typepaper substrate
ColorGold
RegionEgypt
Approx. Year1350
Source Information
AuthorPorter, Cheryl. "The Science of Color: Color Analysis and the Roles of Economics, Geography, and Tradition in the Artist’s Choice of Colors for Manuscript Painting." In: And Diverse Are Their Hues: Color in Islamic Art and Culture
CollectionCairo
Language
N/A
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