Materials and techniques of Islamic manuscripts

Penley Knipe,Agnese Babini,Katherine Eremin,Georgina Rayner,Marc Walton

doi:10.1186/s40494-018-0217-y

Penley Knipe, Agnese Babini + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s40494-018-0217-y

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Abstract

Over 50 works on paper from Egypt, Iraq, Iran and Central Asia dated from the 13th to 19th centuries were examined and analyzed at the Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies. Forty-six of these were detached folios, some of which had been removed from the same dispersed manuscript. Paintings and illuminations from five intact manuscripts were also examined and analyzed, although not all of the individual works were included. The study was undertaken to better understand the materials and techniques used to create paintings and illuminations from the Islamic World, with particular attention paid to the diversity of greens, blues and yellows present. The research aimed to determine the full range of colorants, the extent of pigment mixing and the various preparatory drawing materials. The issue of binding materials was also addressed, albeit in a preliminary way.

Highlights

An ongoing interdisciplinary study at the Harvard Art Museums is investigating the materials and techniques used to embellish folios1 from Islamic manuscripts and albums created from the 13th through the 19th centuries
The manuscripts and folios studied in the overall project span the Middle East, in this paper we focus on works from Egypt, Iraq, Iran and Central Asia
Pigment identifications were based on the chemical composition from X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis and were confirmed by Raman spectroscopy

Summary

Introduction

An ongoing interdisciplinary study at the Harvard Art Museums is investigating the materials and techniques used to embellish folios from Islamic manuscripts and albums created from the 13th through the 19th centuries. The current project is aimed at clarifying our understanding of the materials and techniques used in Islamic art works and relating these to the period and/or place of manufacture. Data from a number of unpublished student projects were incorporated where possible. Examination of folios from a single manuscript, including those detached and dispersed as well as those still bound as a volume, enabled investigation of the variations between related works. The manuscripts and folios studied in the overall project span the Middle East, in this paper we focus on works from Egypt, Iraq, Iran and Central Asia. Works from Ottoman Turkey and Mughal India will be considered separately in further publications

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