| Abstract: | CONCLUSION. Because of the great variety of recipes in terms of ingredients, production methods and their variables, which all have an effect on the final product and its properties, their behaviour may differ from the original. The inks reproduced were left to stand in closed bottles in the dark for half a year to determine what would happen over time. Within the project, samples on paper were aged. This showed that all inks behave differently, which can probably be linked to the different production methods. Even though galls, gum and vitriol were the same, the liquid, e.g. distilled water, and sometime red wine or beer with a low alcohol percentage varied. Future research is planned, entering all elements into a mathematical scheme, the so-called experimental design in order to counteract possible variables. It is hoped that this will help to evaluate the different effects, and to better be able to choose model inks for InkCor. Research still continues and no recipes for model inks have definitively been chosen.
SUMMARIES. Ever since the use of iron-gall ink in the first centuries AD, scribes have been noting down recipes to prepare this ink. From the 16th century onwards, iron-gall ink recipes appeared also in printed publications. In order to better understand ink corrosion, as well as to develop treatment methods, art historical source research has been carried out. The importance of these recipes lies in the information they contain concerning the materials used, their preparation techniques, the qualities of the produced inks, and the description of writing and drawing methods. This research was carried out during the first part of an interdisciplinary European Project entitled "InkCor-Stabilisation of Iron Gall Ink Containing Paper" [1], that has been funded by the European Community. The objective was to select a representative group of historical ink recipes for the preparation of model inks that will be used as reference materials during the evaluation of non-aqueous treatment methods within the InkCor project. About 270 historical iron-gall ink recipes were collated, transcribed and entered into the ArTeS (Art Technological Sources) database for art technological source research that is owned by the Instituut Collectie Nederland (767V, Amsterdam, The Netherlands). Based on 19 assessment criteria and on reconstructions of historical inks, nine recipes were selected. The research still continues and no recipes have been definitely selected yet. |
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