mixture of cinnabar (HgS) and red lead (Pb3O4)

Ingredients

HgS, Pb3O4

Evidence

"The red color ink seems to be a mixture of both Hg-based and Pb-based pigments, which is unusual for Islamic manuscripts of this period... it was simply a mixture of cinnabar (HgS) and red lead (Pb3O4 sometimes written as, 2PbO · PbO2)."

Remarks

The presence of cinnabar in this manuscript, which refers to the 11th-century scholar Al-Ghazali, suggests it is likely a 16th-century copy or a forgery, as cinnabar usage became common in this context after the 16th century (p. 7). The mixture of two red pigments is considered unusual (p. 7).