Page - 95 - in The Vienna Genesis - Material analysis and conservation of a Late Antique illuminated manuscript on purple parchment

Sophie Rabitsch, Inge Boesken Kanold, Christa Hofmann 95 Comparison of dyed samples with the parchment of the Vienna Genesis In order to compare the dyed samples with the aged purple parchment of the Vienna Gen- esis a simple light-ageing test was performed. Pieces of parchment, partially covered, were exposed to sunlight during the whole month of July 2017. They were placed into a south- west-facing window. The results confirm the light sensitivity of orchil and folium versus the lightfastness of shellfish purple (Fig. 22). The samples dyed with orchil and folium faded strongly, while that dyed with shellfish purple barely altered. The appearance of the light-aged parchment samples dyed in orchil greatly resembles the hues and nuances of the Vienna Genesis folios (Fig. 23). The vivid colour of freshly dyed orchil samples suggest an originally contrasting and magnificent appearance of a pur- ple manuscript with shiny, silver ink on strong, saturated purple. While the samples dyed with folium from dried fruits are much paler and the purple hues obtained with shellfish appear bluer than the colour of the Vienna Genesis, the parchment samples dyed with orchil resemble the colour found on the Vienna Genesis the most. Fig. 22: Samples for light ageing experiment, before (above) and after (below). Open-Access-Publikation im Sinne der CC-Lizenz BY 4.0