Page - 127 - in The Vienna Genesis - Material analysis and conservation of a Late Antique illuminated manuscript on purple parchment

Rabitsch, Malissa, Hradil, Erlach, Uhlir, Griesser, Hofmann 127 is mostly opaque. The coarse surface often shows small cracks. Under the microscope, it appears shiny and sparkly in many areas (Fig. 8). The ink was probably burnished to enhance the gleam of the silver on the purple background as described in many historical texts. On every folio, the silver ink has corroded and caused severe damage to the parchment. The ex- tent ranges from small cracks to larger losses in the text area. The deterioration, which differs from folio to folio, is described in detail in the chapter on conservation. Fig. 7: Details of ink a) dark grey, folio 5, page 10, b) brownish grey, folio 15, page 30, c) silvery grey, folio 19, page 37. Fig. 8: Microscopic images of silver ink at 12x magnifi- cation (scale bar 1 mm), folio 12, page 23. Open-Access-Publikation im Sinne der CC-Lizenz BY 4.0