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Early Islamic pigments at Nishapur, north-eastern Iran: studies on the painted fragments preserved at The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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Abstract

Pigments appearing on ninth–twelfth-century AD-carved stucco, wall painting, and terracotta friezes excavated at Nishapur in north-eastern Iran were investigated by optical reflectance spectroscopy, micro X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (μ-XRF), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), micro-Raman spectroscopy (μ-Raman), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Many of the pigments identified including vermilion, red lead, hematite, limonite, carbon black, atacamite, calcite, and gypsum have been identified in previous studies of pigments used in later Islamic periods. However, a series of unusual pigments such as wulfenite, pyromorphite, phoenicochroite, and jarosite were also found in the present study. The association of kaolinite and alunite with limonite and other Fe-bearing yellow pigments points to a local provenance for these pigments. In addition, the presence of orpiment in the vermilion may be indicative that the vermilion was artificially manufactured. These findings suggest that pigment use and manufacturing during the ninth to eleventh centuries in Nishapur was still in a trial-and-error stage and the palette known from the twelfth century onwards had not yet been systematized.

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Acknowledgments

Special thanks go to the Andrew W. Mellon foundation for providing a research fellowship to the lead author that allowed for the study of archaeological materials from Nishapur. Lisa Pilosi, Marco Leona, and Sheila Canby, the Heads of the Departments of Objects Conservation, Scientific Research and Islamic Art, respectively, at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, as well as Marcie Karp of the Museum’s Education Department, are cordially thanked for their support. Amir-Hossein Karimy, the vice-director of the Research Deputy at the Art University of Isfahan, Iran, is especially thanked for his valued insight and advice.

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  1. Department of Objects Conservation, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 5th Avenue, New York, NY, 10028, USA

    Parviz Holakooei & Jean-François de Lapérouse

  2. Department of Islamic Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 5th Avenue, New York, NY, 10028, USA

    Martina Rugiadi

  3. Department of Scientific Research, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 5th Avenue, New York, NY, 10028, USA

    Federico Carò

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  1. Parviz Holakooei
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Holakooei, P., de Lapérouse, JF., Rugiadi, M. et al. Early Islamic pigments at Nishapur, north-eastern Iran: studies on the painted fragments preserved at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Archaeol Anthropol Sci 10, 175–195 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-016-0347-7

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