red cinnabar

Ingredients

red cinnabar, water of sour pomegranate seeds, water, white gum arabic, melted sandarac

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

Take some red cinnabar, grind it finely, then rinse it with the water of sour pomegranate seeds, pour water over it and rinse well, and purify it after leaving it for one hour, until the suspension has settled. Then, grind it either in an impermeable or on a polished permeable stone slab, add water gradually and grind it until it cannot absorb any more water and is similar to harira soup. Then, add the dissolved gum arabic and pound it vigorously until it is absorbed into the substance (p. 166). The gum arabic must be prepared beforehand by soaking chips in three parts pure water, hanging the vessel in the sun for a whole day, and agitating until settled (p. 164).

Evidence

"Take some red cinnabar, grind it finely, then rinse it with the water of sour pomegranate seeds, pour water over it and rinse well, and purify it after leaving it for one hour, until [the suspension] has settled."

Remarks

The recipe provides instructions for both ink and paint use. If used as an ink, it is poured onto a washed silk wad inside a glass jar. If used for paints, a hair brush is used to spread it onto images (p. 166).