Beyond art technical sources: understanding colour production in Andalusi texts

Ana Miranda; Isabel Pombo Cardoso

doi:10.14568/cp36258

Authors

Ana Miranda LAQV/REQUIMTE, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Campus de Caparica, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal; CH-ULisboa, Faculdade de Letras da Universidade de Lisboa, Alameda da Universidade, 1600-214 Lisboa, Portugal https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1990-685X
Isabel Pombo Cardoso LAQV/REQUIMTE, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Campus de Caparica, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal; Department of Conservation and Restoration, NOVA School of Science and Technology, Campus de Caparica, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3328-6749

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14568/cp36258

Keywords:

Colour production, Colour commerce, Colour use, Medieval pigments, Al-Andalus, Andalusi texts

Abstract

The study of colour production in al-Andalus has been mostly directed towards art technical documentary sources, such as al-Qalalūsī’s Tuḥaf al-Ḫawāṣ (The Treasures of the Select), the 13th century Andalusi instructional book. The focus of the said research falls on the ingredients and procedures to create colour. However, the technical-centred approach tends to overlook social, economic, and cultural aspects of colour-making, such as the social perception towards dyers, prices, colour etiquette, besides the context under which such manuals were written. Other types of texts – such as geographical, normative, technical, and epistolary – can help to fulfil such gaps, by providing information regarding the production, commerce, transportation, symbolism, and further uses of raw materials used in colour production, such as alum, cinnabar, and indigo. A multifaceted approach which combines the analysis of different types of coeval sources, primarily Andalusi, can contribute for a more comprehensive insight on colour production in al-Andalus.

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References

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