minium (salīqūn)
Yemen
13th Century
Source: Sara Fani, 'Literary Dimension and Life of Arabic Treatises on Ink Making', pp. 106-125.
Recipe Details
Ingredients
minium (salīqūn), borax (būraq), gum arabic (ṣamġ), solution of gall-nut (māʾ al-ʿafṣ)
Preparation Steps
The recipe for pink ink (ḥibr wardī) from the treatise Al-muḫtaraʿ (MM II.18) dictates: 'It is taken an ūqiyya of minium and is crushed on a slab of stone and it is added the weight of a dirham of borax and two dirhams of gum arabic and it is kneaded until it becomes fine while it is soaked with a solution of gall-nut and it is written with it.' (p. 117-118)
Original Recipe Text
The recipe for pink ink (ḥibr wardī) from the treatise Al-muḫtaraʿ (MM II.18) dictates: 'It is taken an ūqiyya of minium and is crushed on a slab of stone and it is added the weight of a dirham of borax and two dirhams of gum arabic and it is kneaded until it becomes fine while it is soaked with a solution of gall-nut and it is written with it.' (p. 117-118)
Evidence
"Title (MM II.18) صفة حبر وردي Description of a pink ink... Starting verb I ("to take") تؤخذ It is taken an ūqiyya Ingredient I سيلقون of minium"
Remarks
This recipe is noted for its scanty and telegraphic syntactical structure, common in technical manuals of the period. It demonstrates the use of inorganic pigments (minium) combined with traditional binders like gum arabic and the use of gall-nut solution as a soaking medium. (p. 117-118)
Scientific Analysis
Chemical CompositionPb3O4
Analytical Techniques
Comparative textual analysis
Certainty Level
Inferred
Instrumentally Verified
Not Verified
Metadata
Material Type
ink
BinderAcacia gum
ColorPink
RegionYemen
Approx. Year1250
Source Information
AuthorSara Fani, 'Literary Dimension and Life of Arabic Treatises on Ink Making', pp. 106-125.
CollectionAl-muḫtaraʿ fī funūn min al-ṣunaʿ by al-Malik al-Muẓaffar
Language
N/A
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