| Abstract: | SUMMARIES. There has been a lack of analyses of early manuscript pigments that use reliable and unambiguous analytical techniques. An interdisciplinary methodology for identifying which pigments were used on Anglo-Saxon manuscripts (those from England, c. 600 - c. 1066 AD) was applied, and a pilot series of analyses was carried out. A list of likely pigments was compiled from contemporary written sources, from analyses of near-contemporary European manuscripts, and from archaeological finds of raw colourants or coloured artifacts. Pigments were analysed using micro-Raman spectroscopy and near-infrared imaging. Results are presented. Analysis provided data mainly on inorganic pigments, and information on organic pigments was derived principally from other indirect sources of evidence. Preliminary patterns of pigment use were identified, correlating with the places, dates and workshops of origin. Minium, verdigris, carbon black and orpiment were found throughout, with indigotiu in the earliest examples, and shellfish purple and lead while in some de luxe books. Ultramarine started to be used c. 1000 AD but apparently only in Canterbury. 'There is some late use of azurite and red ochre. The results presented arc the first reliable ones since 1885.
CONCLUSIONS. Although not many full analyses were performed, already it can be clearly seen that such analyses are useful, and that the results suggest useful patterns. One issue to emerge is that there is a problem with selecting areas for spot analysis. However densely packed the sampling areas, pigments can be missed. During the collaborative µRS work, only ultramarine was identified in the hair of St Benedict in Arundel MS 155 f. 133r [12], but the subsequent recent publication by Brown and Clark reports indigotin as well [7. This is where imaging techniques can be so helpful, as they cover all areas. Unfortunately they are not yet capable of distinguishing a very wide range of pigments. Conversely, µRS found indigo where present in the mixed pigment vergaut, whereas the imaging technique could not. (The author was disappointed to read of the presence of indigo in this eleventh-century manuscript, as until then there was a satisfyingly simple pattern for blues: indigo in early manuscripts, replaced by ultramarine c. 1000 AD. The pattern is now more complex.) Clearly, much remains to be done. Organics in particular remain a problem, and micro-sampling techniques seem at present to be the only satisfactory solution. While the micro-Raman spectroscopy and near-infrared analysis were useful for identifying the inorganic pigments, at present the only evidence we have for which organic pigments might have been used (other than indigotin) is the indirect evidence. Compared to the analysis of, for example, easel paintings, manuscript analysis is in its infancy. What is needed, for decorated manuscripts of all periods and countries, is an extensive programme of analyses, to establish firmly the sequence and spread of material use. The study of Anglo-Saxon manuscript pigments has already produced surprises such as the earliest uses of lead white and ultramarine on European manuscripts. |
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