carbon-based, specifically lamp black

Ingredients

lamp black, lamp soot

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

The author notes that lamp soot was produced by gathering soot from inside a chimney constructed over a four-wick lamp that burned linseed oil (p. 182). The soot was then sieved and subjected to further treatment to produce a fine powder. While gum Arabic or glair are noted as historical binders, the specific samples from the Berkeley collection were analyzed for morphology, showing a higher incidence of clay minerals, which suggests the ink was likely manufactured or stored in a clay pot (p. 183).

Evidence

"The ink used to write the documents is carbon-based lamp black (rather than iron gall ink), a common black pigment used in ink making through Islamic times."

Remarks

The ink morphology was highly suggestive of lamp black rather than charcoal black pigment due to the specific soot particle characteristics (p. 183). Future analyses are suggested to confirm the presence of gum admixtures, which were traditionally added to impart adhesive quality (p. 185).