pulverised gold

Ingredients

pulverised gold, gold leaf, egg white, mordant, chalk, gum arabic, size

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

The gold leaf was attached to a surface either directly using egg white or by means of a mordant (p. 113). Mordant was an adhesive compound made of ground white substance (such as chalk) mixed with size (such a gum arabic) to the consistency of cream so that it could be applied with a brush (or pen) (p. 113). It was left to dry and could have been burnished to resemble glass. Before applying gold leaf the size was moistened (p. 114).

Evidence

"A study conducted on a group of Maghrebi manuscripts from the 6/12th to the 9/15th centuries found that 'pulverised gold was used for both the more extensive areas and the finest lines, whereas gilded surfaces were flat and ‐only rarely applied over a base of any thickness‐'"

Remarks

The text distinguishes two types of gilding: al-tadhhib al-mutfa (matt) and al-tadhhib al-lamma (bright, glossy) (p. 114). Matt gilding involves placing a sheet of paper over gold decoration and polishing it with a piece of shell (mahar). Glossy gilding involves placing a sheet of paper over the decoration and polishing it, then removing the paper and burnishing the gold with an ivory ruler (mistarah 'ajiyah) (p. 114).