folium (turnsole)

Ingredients

Chrozophora tinctoria fruits, urine vapours, gum Arabic, muslin clothlet (drapeau)

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

Dyes were extracted from the fruits and absorbed onto small pieces of cloth (clothlets). In the European tradition described in 'De Arte Illuminandi', the cloth was kept dry within books. Alternatively, the 'Book of All Colour Paints' describes exposing the cloth to urine vapours and sunlight until a 'blackberry' hue is reached (p. 6). For use in painting, miniaturists would cut a section of the clothlet and dissolve the colour with a binding agent like gum Arabic (p. 5-6).

Evidence

"These clothlets, preserved as watercolour-like materials, were utilised later by miniaturists for manuscript illustrations and illuminations."

Remarks

The term 'folium' refers to the dye-saturated cloth rather than the plant itself (p. 6). The color obtained (red, purple, or blue) depended on whether the environment was acidic or alkaline (p. 6). Recent research has identified its presence as a colorant in manuscripts produced under Islamic rule, though it was previously thought to be primarily Western European (p. 3).