amalgam of mercury, sulphur, silver and zinc
18th Century
Source: Colini, C. (2021). Ink Making by the Book: Learning a Craft in the Arabic World. In: Manuscript Cultures, De Gruyter.
Recipe Details
Ingredients
mercury, sulphur, silver, zinc
Preparation Steps
The Kitāb al-Iṣāba contains two specific recipes (13 and 18) describing how to obtain a silver-like ink by using mercury and how to dissolve silver in order to write with it (p. 13). The physical flakes found on the manuscript are residues of such metallic ink production or alchemical testing (p. 13).
Original Recipe Text
The Kitāb al-Iṣāba contains two specific recipes (13 and 18) describing how to obtain a silver-like ink by using mercury and how to dissolve silver in order to write with it (p. 13). The physical flakes found on the manuscript are residues of such metallic ink production or alchemical testing (p. 13).
Evidence
"Greyish flakes can be found over the entire page of fol. 27v and have been identified as an amalgam of mercury, sulphur, silver and zinc by scientific analysis."
Remarks
Spr 1918 shows ample traces of heavy use; pages were so worn and torn that they required repair and rewriting (p. 13). The greyish flakes scattered across fol. 27v suggest the handbook was kept in close proximity to a workshop where metallic inks were produced (p. 13).
Scientific Analysis
Chemical CompositionHg, S, Ag, Zn
Analytical Techniques
Raman
XRF
Visible Spectroscopy
Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transform Spectroscopy (DRIFTS)
Certainty Level
Confirmed
Instrumentally Verified
Verified
Metadata
Material Type
ink
ColorGrey
Approx. Year1750
Source Information
AuthorColini, C.
CollectionSpr 1918
Language
N/A
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