Golden ink (liyaq ḏahabiyya)
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
copper filings, golden marcasite, gum arabic
Preparation Steps
Take copper filings and golden marcasite. Grind the filings and wash the marcasite until it appears white. Grind both together on a stone slab and mix with gum arabic for writing (p. 172).
Original Recipe Text
Take copper filings and golden marcasite. Grind the filings and wash the marcasite until it appears white. Grind both together on a stone slab and mix with gum arabic for writing (p. 172).
Evidence
"Take some copper filings and golden marcasite, grind the filings and wash the marcasite white; then grind them on a stone slab, and mix it with gum arabic and then one can write with it."
Remarks
This recipe uses metallic and mineral components to simulate gold rather than using actual gold leaf (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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