Ancient Mediterranean Inks and Pigments
This exhibition for the Virtual Museum of Human Ecology (VMEH) explores the development and evolution of inks in the context of the ancient Mediterranean, from Ancient Egypt to the Middle Ages.
From the earliest Egyptian hieroglyphs drawn in clay to modern printers, ink has been inextricably linked to our lives. Indeed, it has played a fundamental role in the flourishing of science and literature. To understand why, one must merely contrast the fluidity of our cognitive processes when we take notes on paper with those when we write on a computer. This comparison demonstrates that the medium through which we write influences our thought patterns and the way we encode information. Thus, it can be argued that writing is a form of technology for two reasons. Firstly, it is a process by which thought is filtered and adapted to order verbal ideas in a material and visual form. Secondly, it requires the mastery of a specific set of knowledge and skills related to a specific encoding system and its conventions, as well as to the materiality of the act itself. The inscription of writing on hard materials such as stone or clay was inherently limited in its effectiveness as a communicative medium. Conversely, the adoption of ink facilitated a more fluid and richer written language, enhancing the embodiment of ideas and knowledge.
The creation or borrowing of writing means and tools and their adaptation to specific purposes has enabled each literate culture and era to develop and advance its own writing technologies. In the Western world, the history of inks was shaped by the exchange and circulation between different cultures that had the Mediterranean as their centre of communication. In order to provide a perspective that avoids a Eurocentric bias, the exhibition aims to recognize not only the contributions of European cultures, such as the Greeks and Romans, but also the significant roles played by other civilizations, including the Egyptians and Arabs, in the advancement of this technology.
However, this exhibition does not focus exclusively on the use of ink as a medium for writing. Although modern definitions tend to define ink by its function, associating it strictly with writing, in pre-modern times there was no technical or material difference between ink and paint. This is not surprising: scribes, miniaturists and painters shared tools, materials and even working spaces. Consequently, this exhibition presents ink as a product whose main characteristic is transdisciplinary. Furthermore, it was my intention to challenge the perception of these professions as exclusively male domains. Frequently, when considering them, it is erroneously assumed that they were solely performed by men. However, female professionals in writing and painting are not an isolated or exceptional presence. Conversely, their presence has been consistent throughout history, and their limited visibility is more a consequence of ignorance and a lack of study than of their non-existence.
A further consideration that guided this exhibition was the intersection between culture and the environmentthat is distinctive of the VMHE. Inks directly touch on both, as the use of different resources and their manipulation throughout history reveals a technology that is closely linked to an environment of changing resources to which humans have adapted. Each region has contributed an idiosyncratic approach to the creation of inks, as evidenced by the traditions and craft skills of the cultures that inhabited them, as well as the aesthetic qualities of their writings and paintings. Nevertheless,in an era characterised by the awareness of the serious ecological impact of printed paper, it is imperative not to overlook the fact that the sourcing of natural materials and, most notably, the manufacture and production of artificial pigments (some of which are highly toxic) had an ecological impact even in ancient times, which must be considered alongside the impact on the ecosystems of the Nile caused by the intensive exploitation of papyrus for writing. This raises important questions about the sustainability of writing technologies, which currently tend to pursue more natural and environmentally friendly options in historic and/or handmade inks.
Thus, the history of ink represents the evolution of an important facet of our cultures, but also serves as a reminder of our responsibility to the environment, as well as the significance of preserving traditional craftsmanship and its history.
Miriam Blanco Cesteros, the author of the texts and curator of this exhibition, is a tenure-track assistant professor in the Department of Classical Philology at the University Complutense of Madrid, where she is a member of the CSIC-UCM research project «Redes de papiro: estudio de la integridad original de textos fragmentados griegos y coptos a partir de la diseminación moderna» (ref. PID2021-125950NB-C22) and the inter-university research group EGEAM. Estudios de Género en la Antigüedad y la Edad Media. Between 2022 and 2024 she has also been principal investigator of the research project ΙΝΚ-Quiry. Hacia una comprensión integral de las tintas en la Antigüedad, carried out with the Leonardo Grant for Scientific Research and Cultural Creation 2022 from the BBVA Foundation. This exhibition has been realized as part of this project. (The BBVA Foundation is not responsible for the opinions, comments, and contents included in the project and/or the results derived from it, which are the sole and absolute responsibility of the authors.)
Further readings
Akram Nadwi, M. 2013. Al-Muḥaddithāt: The Women Scholars of Islam. Oxford-London: Interface Publications.
Blanco Cesteros, M. 2021. «Written in Blood? Decoding the red inks of Greek magical papyri», in Raggetti, Lucia (ed.), Traces of Ink. Experiences of Philology and Replication. Leiden: Brill, 33-56.
Carrasco Ferrer, M, Ángel Elvira, M. 2024. Mujeres artistas de la antigua Grecia. Creadoras ocultas entre diosas y heroínas. Madrid: Reino de Cordelia.
Christiansen, T. 2017. «Manufacture of Black Ink in the Ancient Mediterranean». BASP 54: 167-195.
Fani, S. 2023. Prendi, aggiungi, mescola e scrivi. Ricettari arabi sulla preparazione di inchiostri. Bologna: Editrice Bibliografica
Haines-Eitzen, K. 1998. «‘Girls Trained in Beautiful Writing’: Female Scribes in Roman Antiquity and Early Christianity». Journal of Early Christian Studies 6(4), 629-646.
Zerdoun Bat-Yehuda, M. 1983. Les Encres noires au Moyen-Âge (jusqu’à 1600). Paris: Éditions du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique.
References
PGM (Papyri Graecae Magicae), K. Preisendanz. 1973-1974 (second edition revised by A. Henrichs), Papyri Graecae Magicae. Die griechischen Zauberpapyri, 2 Vols. Stuttgart: Teubner.
GEMF (Greek and Egyptian Magical Formularies), Faraone, Ch.- Torallas Tovar, S. (eds.). 2022. Greek and Egyptian Magical Formularies. Edition, translation and commentary, vol. I. Berkeley: California Classical Studies. Vols. II y III, under preparation.