henna dye

Ingredients

henna, rice starch (nešāste), wheat starch (nešāste-ye gandom), asphodel glue (seriš), fish glue (sirišum-e māhi), fleawort seeds (espāghol), cucumber seeds, melon seeds, marshmallow mucilage, myrtle seeds, grape syrup, rock sugar (nabāt-e meṣri)

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

Henna Dyeing: One part henna to ten parts water; heat water, add leaves, soak for a day/night, filter, and use as dye (p. 197). Rice Starch (Nešāste): Take best-quality rice, rub with salt, wash, soak for a day until soft, grind in a mortar with water, filter into copper vessel, and boil to paste (p. 202). Fish Glue (Sirišum): Soak Caspian white-fish glue in water for three days, change water daily, heat till it melts, and filter (p. 205-206). Sizing process: Sizing (āhār) is applied with cotton balls to paper on a board (taḵte), then burnished with agate (p. 200, 206).

Evidence

"In the second stage of the investigation... analysis of the sizing materials used in the original samples was carried out using a staining method and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR). (p. 206)"

Remarks

The study investigated sizing materials in eleven historical Persian/Indian manuscripts. It categorized sizes as proteinaceous (animal glue, starch), vegetable gums (gum arabic, tragacanth), and mucilages (from fleawort, cucumber, etc.). Laboratory results on henna showed it inhibits Aspergillus flavus fungus growth significantly at concentrations above 10% (p. 198), validating historical recipes as premodern fungicides. Sizing was found to improve aesthetic qualities and prevent ink from spreading (p. 199). Paper dyed with henna/saffron mix was favored by calligraphers to reduce eye strain (p. 195).