Pigment analysis by Raman microscopy of the non‐figurative illumination in 16th‐ to 18th‐century Islamic manuscripts

The non-figurative illumination in five Islamic religious manuscripts of the 16th to 18th centuries held in the National Art Library (NAL) at the Victoria and Albert Museum were analysed by Raman microscopy (RM) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) to determine the pigments used in each case and to establish whether the range of pigments evolved with time. The pigments identified include lazurite, red lead, vermilion, orpiment and a carbon-based black, which were found on all five manuscripts without exception, as well as lead white, malachite, atacamite, haematite, pararealgar, indigo and Prussian blue, which were found on a more limited number of manuscripts. The presence of gold-based gilding was also established. This range of pigments differs in only a few respects from those already established for Islamic secular manuscripts of the same period. We may conclude that the range of pigments remained stable during the 16th and 17th centuries and began to expand in the 18th century through the introduction of synthetic pigments. On a 16th-century manuscript analysed in this study, the intermediate phase formed by the light-induced degradation of realgar into pararealgar was also identified. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.