parchment (raqq)
Syria
14th Century
Source: Lucia Raggetti, "Inks as Instruments of Writing: Ibn al-Ǧazarī’s Book on the Art of Penmanship", Journal of Islamic Manuscripts 10 (2019) 201–239.
Recipe Details
Ingredients
gypsum, lime, chalk paste, ṭabāšīr
Preparation Steps
The parchment must be cleaned with a mixture of gypsum and lime to ensure a smooth writing surface (p. 210). A separate practice involves rubbing the parchment with a kind of chalk paste (ṭabāšīr) to further smoothen the surface before use (p. 210, footnote 17).
Original Recipe Text
The parchment must be cleaned with a mixture of gypsum and lime to ensure a smooth writing surface (p. 210). A separate practice involves rubbing the parchment with a kind of chalk paste (ṭabāšīr) to further smoothen the surface before use (p. 210, footnote 17).
Evidence
"Then one must prepare some parchment (raqq) cleaned with a mixture of gypsum and lime, so that his hand can smoothly proceed in writing without any obstruction."
Remarks
Preparing the carrier is one of the three material 'pillars' of penmanship alongside ink and pen (p. 210).
Scientific Analysis
Chemical Compositioncalcium carbonate / calcium sulfate
Analytical Techniques
textual analysis
Certainty Level
Inferred
Instrumentally Verified
Not Verified
Metadata
Material Type
paper
Paper TypeParchment
RegionSyria
Approx. Year1350
Source Information
AuthorLucia Raggetti, "Inks as Instruments of Writing: Ibn al-Ǧazarī’s Book on the Art of Penmanship", Journal of Islamic Manuscripts 10
CollectionMS Berlin Sprenger 1918
Language
N/A
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