gold, blue pigments, Brazil wood, cochineal, vermillion, minium

Ingredients

gold, blue pigments, Brazil wood, cochineal, vermillion, minium

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

Mamluk bindings utilized gold and blue pigments for geometric designs (p. 17). Red pigments were derived from a variety of sources including organic Brazil wood and cochineal, as well as mineral vermillion and minium (p. 18, note 30). Lacquered covers were a characteristic of Safavid production (p. 17).

Evidence

"Mamluk binding decoration shows strong geometrical designs, finely tooled using gold and sometimes the use of blue pigments), or the Safavid period (two techniques are associated with this culture; leather filigree or fretwork, and lacquered covers)."

Remarks

The text highlights that more elaborately illuminated manuscripts offer more useful clues for analysis than modest scholarly ones, which were often written only in black or brownish-black ink (p. 18). Decoration techniques were often regional: Safavid culture is associated with leather filigree and lacquered covers, while Mamluk bindings are characterized by gold-tooled geometric designs (p. 17).