Black vitriolic ink (al-liyaqa al-sawdāʾ al-zāǧiyya)
Iraq
13th Century
Source: Lucia Raggetti, "Ordinary Inks and Incredible Tricks in al-ʿIrāqī’s ʿUyūn al-ḥaqāʾiq," in Alchemy in the Making: From Ancient Babylonia via Graeco-Roman Egypt into the Byzantine, Syriac, and Arabic Traditions, 2021.
Recipe Details
Ingredients
gall nuts, water, vitriol from Cyprus
Preparation Steps
Take gall nuts, crush them, and macerate them in water. Write with this solution on a leaf and allow it to dry until it fades. Then, take 'good vitriol' from Cyprus, grind it well, and mix it with water. Wash the leaf in this vitriol solution, which causes the writing to appear black (p. 172).
Original Recipe Text
Take gall nuts, crush them, and macerate them in water. Write with this solution on a leaf and allow it to dry until it fades. Then, take 'good vitriol' from Cyprus, grind it well, and mix it with water. Wash the leaf in this vitriol solution, which causes the writing to appear black (p. 172).
Evidence
"Take some gall nuts, crush them, macerate them in water, write with this on a leaf and leave it until it fades away. Then, take some good vitriol from Cyprus, grind it well, mix it with water and wash the leaf in it, and the writing will appear black."
Remarks
This is a two-part application process where the colorant is formed in situ on the support (p. 172).
Scientific Analysis
Analytical Techniques
Philological analysis
Certainty Level
Inferred
Instrumentally Verified
Not Verified
Metadata
Material Type
ink
RegionIraq
Approx. Year1250
Source Information
AuthorLucia Raggetti, "Ordinary Inks and Incredible Tricks in al-ʿIrāqī’s ʿUyūn al-ḥaqāʾiq," in Alchemy in the Making: From Ancient Babylonia via Graeco-Roman Egypt into the Byzantine, Syriac, and Arabic Traditions, 2021.
CollectionUnknown
Language
N/A
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