paper watermarked with the distinctive tre lune

Evidence

"In most cases we can date the manuscripts by the materials: they are copied on paper watermarked with the distinctive tre lune, paper that was manufactured by the firm of Andrea Galvini since the seventeenth century."

Remarks

This Italian paper, specifically the 'tre lune' (three crescents) variety, became the dominant writing support for Sudani manuscripts from the 17th to 19th centuries (p. 53, 64). It was often trans-shipped via entrepôts like Cairo and Tripoli (p. 52). Local production of paper did not exist in the Sudanic region until the colonial period, making imported luxury paper the standard for Islamic scholarship (p. 45-46).