purified ‘Indian ink’ (namely ‘Indigo’)
Syria
4th Century
Source: Martelli, M. (2021). ‘Alchemical’ Inks in the Syriac Tradition. In: L. Raggetti (Ed.), Traces of Ink. Brill.
Recipe Details
Ingredients
Indian ink, Indigo, flower of copper, verdigris, juice of leeks
Preparation Steps
The recipe for a red alchemical 'water' is found in the ninth book of a Syriac alchemical collection. It involves mixing purified 'Indian ink' (identified as Indigo), 'flower of copper', verdigris, and the juice of leeks (p. 88).
Original Recipe Text
The recipe for a red alchemical 'water' is found in the ninth book of a Syriac alchemical collection. It involves mixing purified 'Indian ink' (identified as Indigo), 'flower of copper', verdigris, and the juice of leeks (p. 88).
Evidence
"purified ‘Indian ink’ (ܗܢܕܘܝܬܐ ܕܝܘܬܐ, namely ‘Indigo’), ‘flower of copper’ (ܕܐܦܪܘܕ ܗܒܒܐ), verdigris (ܫܚܝܪܐ) and juice of leeks (ܪܬܐ̈ܕܟ ܥܨܪܐ) represent the main ingredients of a red alchemical ‘water’ whose preparation is described in the ninth book of the collection."
Remarks
This ink is described within the context of alchemical preparations for 'waters' rather than standard writing inks, though it uses standard ink terminology like 'dyuto' (p. 88).
Scientific Analysis
Analytical Techniques
Philological analysis
Certainty Level
Inferred
Instrumentally Verified
Not Verified
Metadata
Material Type
ink
Binderjuice of leeks
ColorRed
RegionSyria
Approx. Year350
Source Information
AuthorMartelli, M.
CollectionBritish Library manuscripts
Language
N/A
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