golden yellow marcasite

Ingredients

Armenian borax, egg yolk, red Armenian borax water, golden yellow marcasite, sublimated vinegar, red prunus cerasifera water, emerald-green arsenic, egg white, Iraqi saffron, fish glue

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

Prepare a base by crushing Armenian borax with egg yolk for three days, re-moistening with red Armenian borax water. Separately, treat golden yellow marcasite by crushing and soaking in sublimated old wine vinegar, replacing the vinegar whenever it turns black until it remains clear. Grind the marcasite with the borax mixture and red prunus cerasifera water from Ba'albak for three days, then roast overnight. For writing, mix two parts of this marcasite with one part of ground emerald-green arsenic. Grind with egg white and Iraqi saffron, or fish glue water. This 'ink' can be applied with printing blocks or a pen to garments (p. 70).

Evidence

"Take some Armenian borax, crush it with egg yolk for three days; every time that the yolk dries, break it with the water of red Armenian borax. Then take some good golden yellow marcasite... crush what you want of it. Then place it in a glass vase and pour over it the vinegar sublimated from the best old wine"

Remarks

The process uses marcasite as a surrogate for gold. The use of emerald-green arsenic and Iraqi saffron enhances the metallic appearance (p. 70). The Sage suggests that if treated correctly with vinegar and potash, it will look like 'red gold' (p. 71).