Page - 54 - in The Vienna Genesis - Material analysis and conservation of a Late Antique illuminated manuscript on purple parchment

54 The parchment of the Vienna Genesis: characteristics and manufacture and reminds one of spots with a cloudy appearance, as described in the literature36. With an experienced eye this pattern can be identified as sheepskin, yet the chance that it could be confused with goatskin is high. As a result, identification of the animal based solely on this feature is problematic. Remains of the hair follicle pattern highlighted by the purple dye can be found on the margins of several folios of the Vienna Genesis, for example on folio 1, folio 11 and folio 15 (Fig. 15). Alois Liška, the bookbinder who treated the Vienna Genesis in the 1920s, assumed that the parchment was made from calf. Both Gerstinger and Mazal refer to his statement in the commentaries to their facsimile editions37. It is clear that the follicle pattern is indicative of sheep skin. In combination with the experience from recreating Late Antique parchment, the animal is identified as sheep for all folios of the Vienna Genesis. 36 Federici, 1996, pp. 146–153. 37 Gerstinger, 1931, p. 185; Mazal 1980, p. 11. Fig. 15: Traces of the hair follicle pat- tern preserved in the area of the flank of the sheep on the margin of folio 11, page 22. Open-Access-Publikation im Sinne der CC-Lizenz BY 4.0