carbon ink
Egypt
12th Century
Source: Chapter 5: Implications of This Research, Conclusions and Outlook
Recipe Details
Ingredients
carbon
Preparation Steps
A standard carbon ink. Maimonides himself recommended a recipe for sacred documents consisting of 'carbon ink with the addition of tannins' (p. 160), though the presence of tannins could not be detected with the current non-destructive protocol (p. 161).
Original Recipe Text
A standard carbon ink. Maimonides himself recommended a recipe for sacred documents consisting of 'carbon ink with the addition of tannins' (p. 160), though the presence of tannins could not be detected with the current non-destructive protocol (p. 161).
Evidence
"Reflectography (see Figure 5.16b) shows that the ink does not change its opacity under NIR light... XRF spectra show no difference in the intensity of iron between the paper and the ink... Therefore, we conclude that the ink used to write this document was based on a carbon ink."
Remarks
This is an undated letter of recommendation for Isaac al-Darʿī written on paper (p. 161). The XRF line scan (30 points) clearly illustrates no additional iron abundance in the inked areas compared to the paper support (p. 161).
Scientific Analysis
Analytical Techniques
XRF
NIR light
reflectography
Certainty Level
Confirmed
Instrumentally Verified
Verified
Metadata
Material Type
ink
Paper Typepaper
ColorBlack
RegionEgypt
Approx. Year1150
Source Information
AuthorChapter 5: Implications of This Research, Conclusions and Outlook
CollectionT-S 12.192 (Maimonides autograph)
Language
N/A
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