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Colour and Ink Characterization of Ottoman Diplomatic Documents Dating from the 13th to the 20th Century

  • Ömer Kantoğlu

    Ömer Kantoğlu received his B.Sc. in Chemsitry, M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Radiation Chemsitry. He has been working on the charaterization and conservation of the cultural heritages using nuclear and radiation technology since 2008. Currently, he focuses on the disinfection of archival materials by radiation and also characterization of paper, ink and color used during all periods of the Ottomans as well as radiation and ageing effects on those materials. He has also studied colors of wall paintings, marbling and easel paintings.

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    , Ece Ergun , Rıdvan Kırmaz , Yakup Kalaycı , Abdullah Zararsız and Önder Bayır
Published/Copyright: November 16, 2018

Abstract

This study investigates the colours and inks used in diplomatic documents of the Ottoman Empire dating from the 13th to the 20th century. Elemental and spectroscopic analyses were carried out on more than 150 documents using μ-XRF, Raman and FTIR spectroscopy; 10 documents were selected representatively for each century. In addition to the characterization of colour and ink, their use and distribution through the centuries is discussed. Analysis showed the presence of minium, vermilion, red ochre and cochineal (red pigments); lapis lazuli (ultramarine blue), azurite (blue verditer), Prussian blue and smalt (blue pigments); malachite and green earth (green pigments); massicot and yellow lead (yellow respectively orange pigments) and basic lead carbonate and zinc oxide (white pigments). All illuminations were ornamented with gold to demonstrate the power of the Empire and the Emperor. Texts were written in iron gall- and carbon-based black ink (carbon black/soot), cochineal (red) ink and gold.

Zusammenfassung

Pigmente und Tinten in türkischen Dokumenten aus dem 13.-20. Jahrhundert

In der vorliegenden Studie wurden Farben und Tinten untersucht, die in Dokumenten des Osmanischen Reiches vom 13. bis zum 20. Jahrhundert verwendet werden. Elementare und spektroskopische Analysen wurden an mehr als 150 Dokumenten mittels μ-XRF-, Raman- und FTIR-Spektroskopie durchgeführt; 10 Dokumente wurden repräsentativ für jedes Jahrhundert ausgewählt. Neben der Charakterisierung von Farben und Tinten wird deren Verwendung über die Jahrhunderte diskutiert. Die Analyse ergab die Verwendung von Minium, Zinnoberrot, Rotocker und Cochenille (rote Pigmente); Lapislazuli, Azurit, Preußischblau und Smalt (blaue Pigmente); Malachit und grüne Erde (grüne Pigmente); Massicot und gelbes Blei (gelbe bzw. orangefarbene Pigmente) und basisches Bleicarbonat und Zinkoxid (weiße Pigmente). Alle Illuminationen wurden mit Gold verziert, um die Macht des Imperiums und auch des Sultans zu demonstrieren. Texte wurden mit Eisengallustine oder Rußtinte verfasst, manchmal wurden sie auch mit Cochenille (rot) oder Gold geschrieben.

Résumé

La caractérisation des encres et pigments de manuscrits ottomans enluminés datant du 13ème au 20ème siècle

Dans cet article, des pigments et encres utilisés pour l’enluminure de manuscrits de l’Empire ottoman datant du 13ème au 20ème siècle ont été étudiés. Des analyses élémentaires et spectroscopiques ont été réalisées sur plus de 150 manuscrits enluminés en utilisant la spectrométrie de fluorescence des rayons X, les spectroscopies IRTF et Raman et 12 d’entre ces manuscrits ont été jugés représentatifs de chaque siècle. En plus de la caractérisation des encres et pigments, nous discuterons de la fréquence élevée ou rare de l’emploi de différents pigments et encres à travers les siècles. Les résultats des analyses des manuscrits enluminés ottomans révèlent que pour le rouge on utilise le minium, le vermillion, l’ocre rouge, le carmin; pour le bleu: le lapis lazuli, l’azurite, le bleu de Prusse, et le smalt; pour le vert: la malachite et la terre verte; pour le jaune: le massicot et le jaune de plomb; et pour le blanc: le carbonate de plomb et l’oxyde de zinc. Toutes les enluminures sont ornées d’or pour démontrer la puissance de l’Empire et de l’Empereur. Les textes des manuscrits sont écrits avec des encres noire, rouge et or composées d’encre métallo-gallique, d’encre au carbone, de carmin et d’or.

About the author

Ömer Kantoğlu

Ömer Kantoğlu received his B.Sc. in Chemsitry, M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Radiation Chemsitry. He has been working on the charaterization and conservation of the cultural heritages using nuclear and radiation technology since 2008. Currently, he focuses on the disinfection of archival materials by radiation and also characterization of paper, ink and color used during all periods of the Ottomans as well as radiation and ageing effects on those materials. He has also studied colors of wall paintings, marbling and easel paintings.

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to express their gratitude to Turkish Atomic Energy Authority for supporting this work through TAEK [A4.H5.P10] project and also to General Directorate of State Archives to allow us the spectroscopic analysis on the original documents.

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Received: 2018-08-15
Revised: 2018-10-24
Accepted: 2018-10-31
Published Online: 2018-11-16
Published in Print: 2018-12-19

© 2018 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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