green paint

Ingredients

copper, vinegar, camel dung, yoghurt

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

Primary sources for Islamic manuscripts list two specific recipes for preparing green pigment: 1. Burying a piece of copper in camel dung and pouring vinegar over it, which triggers complex chemical reactions (p. 34). 2. Treating copper with yoghurt (p. 34). The resulting pigments are copper-containing but may not be identical to the copper acetate known as verdigris in Western traditions (p. 34).

Evidence

"In a condition problem familiar to scholars of Islamic manuscripts, the green paint used in the framing lines around the text or miniatures in numerous Islamic manuscripts causes breaks and losses in the support below the paint."

Remarks

The text warns against the impulsive labeling of all green pigments in Islamic manuscripts as 'verdigris' without actual analysis (p. 34). Many green paints used in the tradition contain copper and are physically aggressive toward the paper support, but their specific chemical identification is necessary for effective conservation treatments (p. 34). Identification based solely on visual decay patterns is considered unreliable given the variety of copper-based recipes available in the primary sources (p. 34).