iron-gall inks
Egypt
10th Century
Source: Rabin, I. (2021). Material Studies of Historic Inks. In 'The Materiality of Writing', pp. 70-78.
Recipe Details
Ingredients
iron(II) sulfate, gallic acid, gall nuts, vitriol, copper, zinc
Preparation Steps
Produced by the reaction between iron(II) and gallic acid (p. 72). The metal salts (vitriol) often include iron sulfate, copper sulfate, manganese sulfate, and zinc sulfate (p. 73). Binders such as gum arabic or animal glue are used, and solvents include water, wine, or vinegar (p. 72).
Original Recipe Text
Produced by the reaction between iron(II) and gallic acid (p. 72). The metal salts (vitriol) often include iron sulfate, copper sulfate, manganese sulfate, and zinc sulfate (p. 73). Binders such as gum arabic or animal glue are used, and solvents include water, wine, or vinegar (p. 72).
Evidence
"the fingerprint of the ink, the ratio of copper / iron and zinc / iron is indeed constant in all three fragments, supporting the hypothesis of a single manuscript."
Remarks
Analyzed fragments T-S F17.4, T-S 12.755, and T-S 12.756 from the Cairo Geniza. The comparison of Cu/Fe and Zn/Fe ratios established that the consonantal text of three fragments matched, while vocalization points displayed a different fingerprint (p. 75).
Scientific Analysis
Chemical CompositionFe, Cu, Zn
Analytical Techniques
Raman
NIR reflectography
XRF
FTIR
Certainty Level
Confirmed
Instrumentally Verified
Verified
Metadata
Material Type
ink
Binderwater-soluble binders
Paper TypeParchment
ColorBrown
RegionEgypt
Approx. Year950
Source Information
AuthorRabin, I.
CollectionCambridge University Library (T-S fragments)
Language
N/A
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