non-carbon inks

Ingredients

iron, calcium, potassium, plant extracts

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

The ink is hypothesized to be a 'plant ink with addition of iron, prepared according to a local recipe' (p. 76). This classification stems from the fact that while it contains iron, it lacks the metallic components (Zinc and Manganese) typically found in iron-gall inks produced from vitriol (p. 76).

Evidence

"The difference manifests itself in almost complete disappearance of the inks from of the Mǝʾǝsar Gwǝḥila fragment in contrast with the black colour of inks in MGM-003, that is obviously independent of the wavelength of the illuminating light. This is a clear indication of a different type of ink used in these manuscripts since only carbon inks stay opaque throughout the vis-NIR regions of light spectrum."

Remarks

The fragment's ink is distinctive for its light brown colour rather than the standard black found in later Ethiopian manuscripts (p. 75). Analysis via μ-XRF line scans showed that the intensities of Iron (Fe), Calcium (Ca), and Potassium (K) increase significantly in the inked areas (p. 76). The complete disappearance of the ink under Near-Infrared (NIR) imaging confirms it is not a carbon-based ink (p. 75). The script is dated palaeographically to the pre-mid-14th century (p. 67).