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Vol.. 3, No. 10
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The Leyden Papyrus X
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1159
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68. Softening of Copper.
Heat it; place it in bird dung and after cooling, take out.
69. Coloring of Gold.
Roasted
misy, 3 parts; lamellose alum, {and) celandine, about 1 part; grind to
the consistency of honey with the urine of a small child and color the
object; heat and immerse in cold water.
TO. Writing in Letters of Gold.
Take
a quarter portion of tested gold, melt in a goldsmith's crucible; when
it has become molten add a carat of lead; after it has become alloyed,
set it aside, cool and take a mortar of jasper, throw in it the melted
material; add 1 carat of natron and carefully mix the powder with some
strong vinegar, in the same manner as for an eye-salve medicine, for
three days; then when the mixture is completed, incorporate 1 carat of
lamellose alum, write and polish ■with a tooth.
71. Writing in Letters of Gold.
Soft leaves of Gold; pulverize with mercury in a mortar; and employ them in writing, after the manner of black ink.
72. Another {Preparation).
Incombustible sulfur. . .., Lamellose alum. . . ., gum..... sprinkle the gum with water.
73. Another {Preparation).
Unburnt
sulfur. . . ., lamellose alum, a drachma; add a medium quantity of dry
rust; pulverize the rust, the sulfur, and the alum finely; mix
properly, grind with care and employ it for writing in the same way as
black ink by diluting it with some wine free from sea water. Write upon
papyrus-or parchment.
74. Another {Preparation).
To
write in letters of gold, without gold. Celandine, 1 part; pure resin,
1 part; golden-colored arsenic, of the fragile kind, 1 part; pure gum;
bile of tortoise, 1 part; the liquid part of eggs, 5 parts; take 20
staters by weight of all these materials dried; then throw in 4 staters
of saffron of Cilicia. Can be used not only on papyrus or parchment,
but also upon highly-polished marble, or as well when you wish to make
a beautiful design upon some other object and give it the appearance of
gold.
75. Gi'ding.
Gilding
gives the same effect. Lamellose arsenic, copperas, golden sandarach,
mercury, gum tragacanth, pith of arum, equal parts; dilute the whole
with the bile of a goat. It is applied upon copper objects, upon silver
objects, upon figures {in metal) and upon small shields. The copper
should not have a rough surface.
The
terms "lamellose arsenic" and "golden sandarach" in the above recipe
undoubtedly referred to varieties of the native sulfides of arsenic
that we term as realgar and orpiment. Pliny and Dioscorides both
describe these minerals in their writings.
76. Another {Procedure).
Misy
from the mines, 3 staters; alum from the mines, 3 staters; celandine, 1
stater; pour on these the urine of a small child; grind together until
the mixture becomes viscous and immerse {the object in it).
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