Islamic paper; handmade paper from rags

Ingredients

rags, cotton, flax, wool, rice starch, glue suspension, quicklime

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

The paper is produced from various plant fibres through a process of depleting water from an aqueous fibre pulp suspension placed in a sieve-like mould (p. 38). In the medieval Islamic tradition (per Ibn Bādis), flax was soaked in quicklime, rubbed, and sun-dried before being washed multiple times and pounded into pulp (p. 39). Sizing involved dipping the paper into a glue suspension or applying rice starch with brushes to prevent ink spread (p. 39). Burnishing with stone, wood, or bone was used to polish the surface (p. 40).

Evidence

"The lion’s share of the 391 manuscripts presented in this work was written on paper (257) followed by parchment (113). ... A study of 21 paper manuscripts from the Cairo Genizah has shown that, based on the state of preservation of the fibres, the paper was produced from secondary raw materials such as rags."

Remarks

The corpus contains 257 paper manuscripts (p. 11). While the earliest dated paper in the Genizah is 933 CE (T-S 16.181), its common use in Fustat began in the early 11th century (p. 40). Fiber analysis indicates the use of secondary raw materials such as textile rags, containing cotton, flax, and wool (p. 40). Sizing practices varied: some 11th-century papers showed no starch detection, possibly due to degradation or deliberate omission (p. 40-41).