Item Details

Identifying the Blue Pigments Used in Painted Architectural Decorations of Ilkhanid Buildings (1251–1335 AD) in Yazd, Central Iran

Issue: Vol 4 No. 1 (2017)

Journal: Journal of Islamic Archaeology

Subject Areas:

DOI: 10.1558/jia.30710

Abstract:

This paper reports the identification of the blue pigments used in the painted stucco decoration in three Ilkhanid (1251–1335 AD) (650–736 AH) buildings in Yazd: the Madrasah of Sayed Shams-al-Dīn, the Madrasah of Sayed Kamāl-al-Dīn, and the Madrasah of Sayed Rukn-al-Dīn. The significance of these buildings lies in the fact that these are the latest extant buildings of the period in the city with such extensive painted wall stucco. For the purpose of this study, six samples were tested in total, two from each building. Four types of laboratory instrumental analysis were conducted in this study: Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), polarizing microscopy (PLM), X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Copper was found by XRF, carbonated combinations were identified as a result of FTIR analysis, blue-turquoise crystals were seen under the polarizing microscope, and an azurite phase was identified by XRD analysis. These results indicate that azurite, a blue-colored copper carbonate, has been used as a blue pigment in three Ilkhanid monuments, the madrasas of Sayed Shams-al-Dīn, Sayed Kamāl-al-Dīn, and Sayed Rukn-al-Dīn, in Yazd, Iran.

Author: Adele Mohtasham, Kouros Samanian

View Original Web Page

References :

Afshār, Ī.


1995. Yādigār-hāyi Yazd. Vol. 2: Tehrān: National Heritage Association Press.


Allan, J. W.


1973. “Abūʾl-Qāsim’s treatise on ceramics.” Iran 11: 111–120.


Aloupi, E., A. Karydas and T. Paradellis.


2000. “Pigment analysis of wall paintings and ceramics from Greece and Cyprus: The optimum use of X-Ray spectrometry on specific archaeological issues.” X-ray spectrometry X-ray spectrom 29: 18–24. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-4539(200001/02)29:1%3C18::AID-XRS397%3E3.0.CO;2-5


ʿAlīpūr, K.


1991. Tārīkh-e dānish-e zamīnshināsī wa maʿdan dar Iran, Tarh-e tadvin-e kitāb. Tehran: Iran Geology Organization.


ʿAbbāsī, J.


1995. “Madāris-e-Islāmī.” Vaqf Mīrās-e-Jāvīd Mgazine 10: 74–86.


Baade, B. and K. DeGhetaldi.


“Pigment timeline for the primary elements associated with colorants.” University of Delaware, College of Arts & Sciences. Internet Edition: http://www.artcons.udel.edu/uploads/media_items/xrf-pigment-timeline-brian-baade.original.pdf.


Barnett, J. R., S. Millerb and E. Pearceb.


2006. Colour and art : A brief history of pigments.Optic and Laser Technology 38: 445–453. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.optlastec.2005.06.005


Bruni, S., F. Cariati, F. Casadio and V. Guglielmi.


2001. “Micro-raman identification of the palette of a precious XVI century illuminated Persian codex.” Journal of Cultural Heritage 4: 291–296. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1296-2074(01)01131-1


Brysbaert, A.


2006. “Lapis lazuli in an enigmatic purple pigment from thirteenth-century BC Greek wall painting.” Studies in Conservation 51: 252–266. https://doi.org/10.1179/sic.2006.51.4.252


Christensen, A.


1997. Iran dar zamān-e Sāsānyān, Rashīd Yāsimī, Editor: Ḥasan Rizāyī Bāgh Bīdī. Sidāyi Moʿāsir, Tehran.


Church, A.


1915. The Chemistry of Paints and Painting. Fourth Edition. London: Seeley, Service.


Claes, M., R. Van Ham, K. Janssens and R. Van Grieken.


1999. “Micro-analysis of artists’ pigments by Grazing-Emission X-ray Fluorescence spectrometry.” JCPDS-International Centre for Diffraction Data: 262–277. Internet Edition: http://www.icdd.com/resources/axa/vol41/v41_31.pdf )accesses 9/30/2014(.


Clark, R. J. H. and S. Mirabaud.


2006. “Identification of the pigments on a sixteenth century Persian book of poetry by Raman microscopy.” Journal of Raman Spectroscopy 37 (1–3): 235–239. https://doi.org/10.1002/jrs.1473


Derrick, M.


1999. Infrared Spectroscopy in Conservation Science. Los Angles: Getty Conservation Institute.


Eastaugh, N., V. Walsh, T. Chaplin and R. Siddall.


2008. Pigment Compendium: A Dictionary and Optical Microscopy of Historical Pigments. Burlington, VT: Butterworth-Heinemann.


Ibrāhīmī, A.


1999. “Conservation of a European technique tableau.” Unpublished MA thesis, Art University of Isfahan. (Persian).


Iḥtirām, S.


2013. “Technology and pathology of painted ornaments in Mosallah-Atiq in Yazd.” Unpublished MA thesis, Art university of Isfahan. (Persian).


Isfahānī pūr, F.


2008. “Fanshināsī, āsībshināsī va marimmat-e tazīnāt-e gachī-e muqarnas-e durih-e Ilkhanī dar boqih sayyid shams-al-Dīn.” Unpublished MA thesis, Art University of Isfahan.


Gettens, J. R. and E. West Fitzhugh.


1966. “Azurite and blue verditer.” Studies in Conservation 11(2): 54–61. Internet Edition: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1505445.


Giovanna, B., G. Rodorico, M. Marcello, S. Barbara and L. Dei.


2005. “Spectroscopic techniques in cultural heritage conservation: A survey.” Applied Spectroscopy Reviews 40(3): 187–228. https://doi.org/10.1081/ASR-200054370


Godard, A.


1965. The Art of Iran. Praeger: The University of California.


2009. Āsāri Iran. Translated by Abul-Hassan Sarwqad Muqaddam. Fifth Edition. Mashhad: Islamic Research Foundation of Āstān-e Quds-e Razawī.


Harley, R. D.


1982. Artist’s pigments c.1600–1835. London: Butterworth Scientific.


Ḥātamī, Ḥ.


2010. “Junbish-e madrasah sāzī dar Iran-e ʿasr-e Ilkhanī, Marākiz-e ʿilmī va āmūzishī-e Iran dar asr-e Ilkhanān va taʾthīr-e ān dar farhang va tamaddun-e Islāmī.” Sukhan-e-Tārīkh magazin 11: 3–31.



Hayez, V., S. Denoël, Z. Genadry and B. Gilbert.


2004. “Identification of pigments on a 16th century Persian manuscript by micro-Raman spectroscopy.” Journal of Raman Spectroscopy 3(8–9): 781–785. Special Issue: Raman spectroscopy in Art and Archaeology. https://doi.org/10.1002/jrs.1192


Jaʿfarī, Jaʿfar ibn-e Muḥammad.


2005. Tārīkh-e Yazd. Tehran: ʿElmīva Farhangī Press.


Jawānī, A. and Ḥ. Āqājānī Isfahānī.


2008. Dīwārnigārih-hāyī Safawī dar Isfahān: kākh-e Chihil-sutūn. Tehran: Farhangistīn-e Hunar.


Karīmī, A. Ḥ. and P. Hulākūī.


2008. “Miʿmārī wa tazʾīnāt-e banāyi Pīr Ḥamzih-e sabz-pūsh-e abarkūh.” Gulistān-e Hunar Quarterly Journal 4, Consecutive No. 14: 18–29.


2012. “Decorations of Pīr-e Ḥamzih-e Sabzpūsh’s tomb in Iran.” Conference paper. Historical Technology, Materials and Conservation: SEM and Microanalysis.


Khādīm-zādīh, M. Ḥ.


2008. Miʿmārī durih-e Āl-e Muzaffar-e Yazd (Ilkhanī wa Timūrī) ba negāhī bi banāhāyi asr-e Atābakān. In association with Majīd Ulūmī and Ilāheh Alwandyān. Tehran: Hampā.


Khādīm-zādīh, M. Ḥ. and F. Isfahānī-pūr Hanzāyī.


2014. “Wākāwī-e taḥawwulāt-e tazʾīnāt-e dākhilī-e gunbad dar shīwih-e Yazd wa taʾthīrāt-e ān bar sāyir-e banāhā dar Iran.” Pazhūhish-hāyi bāstān shinaāsī-e Iran Magazine. Hamidān, Iran 4(7): 193–211.


Križnar, A., M. V. Muñoz, F. De la Paz , M. A. Respaldiza, and M. Vega.


2008. “Non-destructive XRF analysis of pigments in a 15th century panel painting.” 9th International Conference on NDT of Art. Jerusalem Israel: 25–30 May 2008. Internet Edition: http://www.ndt.net/article/art2008/papers/177Kriznar.pdf.


Lashgarī, Ā., Ḥ. Khatīb Shahīdī, J. Niyistānī and A. Huzhabrī Nubarī.


2008. “Naqsh-e muhrhāyi tazyīnī dar miʿmārī-e durehyi Ilkhani.” Mutāliʿāt-e. bāstānshināsī 1(2): 85–102.


Laurie, A. P.


1935. “Materials in Persian miniatures.” Technical Studies in the Field of Fine Arts 3: 146–156.


Li, Z., L. Wang, Q. Ma and J. Mei.


2014 . “A scientific study of the pigments in the wall paintings at Jokhang Monastery in Lhasa, Tibet, China.” Heritage Science 2(21). Internet Edition: http://www.heritagesciencejournal.com/content/2/1/21.


Lucas, A.


1962. Ancient Egyptian Materials and Industries. Revised and enlarged by J. R.Harris. 4th Edition. London: Edward Arnold.


Malagodi, M., T. Rovetta and M. Licchelli.


2014. “Study of materials and techniques in painted ceiling panels from a palace in Cremona (Italy, 15th century).” Heritage Science 2. Internet Edition: http://www.heritagesciencejournal.com/content 20.


Margulies, D.


2007. Lecture on lapis lazuli. Personal notes taken during Indo-Persian Painting Workshop, Conservation Department, British Museum, London, 21–25th May 2007.


Martin, F. R.


1912. The Miniature Painting and Painters of Persian India and Turkey from the 8th to the 18th Century. London: B. Quaritch.


Mazzeo, R. E. J., V. Minguzzi, G. Grillini, P. Baraldi and D. Prandstraller.


2006. “Scientific investigations of the Tokhung-Ri tomb mural paintings (408 A.D) of the Koguryo era, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.” Journal of Raman Spectroscopy 37(10): 1086–1097. https://doi.org/10.1002/jrs.1592


Matin, M. and A. M. Pollard.


2015 . “Historical accounts of cobalt ore processing from the Kashan mine.” Iran 8: 171–183.



McBride, C.


2002. “A pigment particle and fiber atlas for paper conservators.” Getty Trust Postgraduate Fellow. Graphics Conservation Laboratory. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University.


Mīrḥussaynī, M.


1993. “Yazd az ẓuhūr tā suqūt-e Āl-e Muẓaffar.” Unpublished MA thesis, Tehran University, Faculty of Literature.


Munshī-Qumī, Q. A.


1988. Gulistān-e-Hunar. Tehran: Gulshan.


Namowicz, C., K. Trentelman and C. McGlinchey.


2009. “XRF of cultural heritage materials: Rounded- Robin IV- paint on canvas.” Powder Diffraction 24(3): 124–129. https://doi.org/10.1154/1.3132591


Pakzad, Z.


2014. “Color in manuscripts of 11th century (Lunar Calendar), (Mahmud U Ayaz collection, Shahnama of Reza Abbasi Museum, Shahnama of Windsor Palace in England).” Advances in Environmental Biology 8(12): 842–851.


Plesters, J.


1966. “Ultramarine blue: Natural and artificial.” Studies in Conservation 11(2): 62–91. Internet Edition: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1505446.


Pope, A. U.


1984. Miʿmārī-e Iran. Translated by Rizā Basīrī. Tehran: Gothenburg.


Purinton, N. and M. Watters.


1991. “A study of the materials used by medieval Persian painters.” Journal of the American Institute for Conservation 30(2): 125–144. Internet Edition: http://www.cool.conservation-us.org/jaic/articles/jaic30-02-002.html.


Reedy, T. J. and C. L. Reedy.


1988. Statistical Analysis in Art Conservation Research. Los Angeles: The Getty Conservation Institute.


Rosi, F., A. Burnstock, K. J. Van den Berg, C. Miliani, B. Giovanni Brunetti and A. Sgamellotti.


2009. “A non-invasive XRF study supported by multivariate statistical analysis and reflectance FTIR to assess the composition of modern painting materials.” Spectrochimica Acta 71: 1655–1662. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.saa.2008.06.011


Sāmāniān, K.


2015. “Identification of green pigment used in persian wall paintings (AD 1501–1736) using PLM, FT–IR, SEM/EDX and GC–MS techniques.” Archaeometry 57(4): 740–758. https://doi.org/10.1111/arcm.12102


Sāmāniān, K., Z. ʿAbbāsī and A. Ismāʿīlzādih Kaldarih.


2013. “Archaeometrical study of the used materials in Qajar easel painting using XRD, XRF, PLM and FTIR techniques: A case study of “egyptian girl” tablout.” Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry 13(2): 159–179.


Sherato, O. and E. Gerube.


1997. Hunar-e Ilkhānī wa Timurī, Yaʿqūb Āzhand. Tehran: Mulā.


Shīshih-burī, T.


2013. “Barrasī-e funūn-e dīwārnigārih-hāyi panj banāyi muta̒alliq beh durih-e Ilkhānī dar shahr-e Yazd.” Unpublished MA Thesis, Art University of Isfahan, Faculty of Conservation and Restoration.


Smith, W. and L. Ewing.


1952.. Kiva mural decorations of Awatovi and Kawaika-a. with a survey of other wall paintings in the Pueblo Southwest. Cambridge, MA: Peabody Museum Press.


Stodulski, L., E. Farrell and R. Newman.


1984. “Identification of ancient Persian pigments from Persepolis and Pasargadae.” Studies in Conservation 29(3): 143–154. https://doi.org/10.1179/sic.1984.29.3.143



Stuart, B. H.


2007. Analytical Techniques in Materials Conservation. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470060520


Ulūmī, M.


2009. “Rāhburd, nigāhdāsht, marimmat wa ihyāyi katībih-e kūfī wa dīwārnigārih-hāyi khāneh-e Ḥussaynyān-e shahr-e Yazd.” Unpublished MA thesis, Art University ofTehran, Applied Art Faculty.


Wilber, D. N.


1969. The Architecture of Islamic Iran: The IlKhānid period. New York: Greenwood Press.


1967. Miʿmārī-e Islāmī-e Iran dar durih-e Ilkhanān. Translated by Abdullāh Faryār. Tehran: Bungāh-e tarjumeh wa nashr-e kitāb.


Wulfe, H. E.


1966. The Traditional Crafts of Persia. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.


2015. Copper (general properties of copper), National Geoscience database of Iran. http://www.ngdir.ir/minemineral/PMineMineralChapterDetail.asp?PID=6931.


2016. Azurite, Handbook of Mineralogy, Mineralogical Society of America. http://handbookofmineralogy.org/pdfs/azurite.pdf.


2016. “Copper in Iran.” The official website of the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Trade of Iran.” http://mimt.gov.ir/documents/10180/1589118/copper+mr+ghasemi.pdf/9f8449fc-f293-4da4-bfb1-9958b0ca1dfc.


2016. “Lazurite, Lazurite Mineral Data.” Webmineral database. http://webmineral.com/data/Lazurite.shtml#.WFulJPl97IV.