orpiment, gold leaves, saffron

Ingredients

Good orpiment (ἀρσενικόν), WʾRŠʾ (yellow dye plant), gilded litharge, 24 leaves of gold, salt, broken gum, water of saffron, liquid alum, pork rind

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

To write with gold: Take good orpiment (2 parts), W’RŠ’ (1 part), and gilded litharge (1 part); grind and mix with water. Then take 24 leaves of gold and add a quarter of the mixture. Grind in a clean mortar with salt. When ground, add water until only pure gold remains. Add the rest of the mixture, broken gum, and water of saffron. Grind until it thickens like an ink. Put in a copper vessel. When writing, soak the reed pen in liquid alum. When dry, polish with pork rind (p. 99-100).

Evidence

"Then take 24 leaves (of gold?) and add a quarter of the mixture. Grind together in a clean mortar by adding a bit of salt. When it is well ground, add water until only pure gold remains. Then add what is left of the mixture and a bit of broken gum, by pouring a bit of water of saffron over it."

Remarks

This recipe (R10) shows close similarities to the Latin Mappae clavicula (rec. 38). The Syriac version specifies a copper vessel for storage, whereas the Latin version suggests a shell or glass pot (p. 100).