LAC (LĀK)
The first technique is simply boiling lac in water to extract the dye.
The second technique is the same as first technique but mixed with unconfirmed element lotr[1] and bring to boil to reduce it to half to get the extract to obtain red dye.
The third technique the lac is boiled in lye (ashnān)[2]; followed by adding lotr and alum in final stage.
First Technique:
Ṣeyrafī in Golzār-e Ṣafa (16th century) and two anonymeous authors Resāleh Dar Bayān-e Ṭarīqeh-ye Sāḵtan-e Morakkab va Kāğaḏ-e Alvān (16th century) and Resāleh Dar Maʿrefat-e Kāğaḏ-e Alvān (19th century) describe the first technique to obtain lac. Seyrafi in Golzār-e Ṣafa (950 A.H./1543 A.D.), has written his recipe in poetry form as follows:
پنج سير آور از لاك نخست دركنش يكمن و نيم آب درست
رنگ سرخ ارکني از لاک نکوست زان که اين رنگ بسي پاک و نکوست
پس بجوشان كه بماند ده سير كاغذ آنگاه بدان رنگ بگير
ليكن اين رنگ گذاري بسيار تا شود صاف كه اينست قرار
From lac, five sīrs as your primary act,
In one and a half mann of water exact.
A red hue from lac, such beauty it displays,
Pure and vivid, in its brilliant arrays.
Boil till just ten sīrs remain intact,
Dye your paper, let the hues interact.
But this color-setting, heed with care,
To achieve clarity, a process rare.
Second Technique:
In Resaleh-ye Joharrieh (837 AH/1433 A.D.) and Resāleh-ye Dar Bayān-e Kāğaḏ Morakkab va Ḥall-e Alvān both in 15th century and in Toḥfe-ye Ḥakim-e Moʾmen (1080 A.H./1670 A.D.) in 17th century, the second technique of making lac dye are described adding an ingredient called lotr in the boiling process in the same way as follows:
رنگ لاک- خوب میآید و طریق آن است که پنج سیررنگ را به یک من آب اضافه کنند ودر دیگِ سنگین چندان بجوشاند که به ده سیر آید، صاف کند و کاغذ را بدان رنگ کنند و در سایه خشک کنند
If paper is dyed with lac, it is permanent and stable. For every five sīrs of lac, add one mann of water and half a sīr of lotr. Bring it to a boil in a heavy pot until it reduces to ten sīrs. Filter this mixture until it becomes clear red. Dye the paper and dry it in the shade in the same way as mentioned before.
Third Technique:
Ṣādeq Beyg Afshār (1010 A.H./ 1601 A.D.) in Qānun al-ṣovar describes the preparation of lac dye from lac twigs with adhering resinous encrustation. Afshār describes the third technique in detail and mentions separating lac from its wood carrier so that the coloured exudates of the insects are separated from their natural ground by boiling the lac in an alkali known as ashnan. In the next stage, Sadeghi advises to add the substance lotr, and finally adding alum called zama[1] to obtain a ruby red colour (la’li):
زرنگ لاک بستان نغز و خوبش به نیکویی جدا گردان زچوبش
بگیر از آب اشنان پاک و بی غش بکن در دیگ و انگه نه بر آتش
در او میریز رنگ لاک کم کم بزن با چوبکی هر لحظه برهم
چو خالی گشت لاک از رنگ بی شک زلتر سوده در وی ریز اندک
پس از ده جوش دیگر صاف کن پاک که دل از دیدنش گردد فرحناک
زصاف او شود لعلی پدیدار زمه باشد زدرد او نگهدار
From lac, a lively hue, garden of delight,
Separate it kindly, from the tree so bright.
Take ash from alkaline, pure and fair,
In a cauldron, let it bloom with care.
Into the mixture, lac dye you pour,
Stir with a stick, let hues explore.
When lac is drained, and its colors take flight,
Filter after ten boils, to make it right.
The result, a ruby shine so clear,
A joy to behold, free from any fear.
After filtering, let permanence take the stage,
With alum, make the color eternal, a beautiful page.
[1] lotr = According to Mayel Heravi it is an Indian seed known as “Haliteh” in Harat and “leeteh” in Iran. It is smaller than a nut and its mucilaginous kernel is used for sizing paper and making abrī paper (Mayel Heravi, The Art of Bibliography in Islamic Civilization, 58. The term lotr also translated by Dikson as lime, by comparison with a process described by C. Cennini. Porter has referred lotr to lime or curdled milk (Porter, Y.: Painters, paintings and books, 80)
[2] ashnān or ushnān: pearl-ash, lye (Steingass), Porter refer it to saponaria juice, 80
[3] mann = Maund, a weight of 40 sīrs, about 3 kilograms.
[4] This word in different texts has been recorded differently. Mayel Heravi has recorded zame (زمه), Ghelichkhani has recoded zamr (زمر) and Porter has recorded (زمج). Both zame (زمه) and zamj (زمج) means alum according to Steingass.
[5] ashnān – The herb alkali, and the ashes made from it. Yves Porter (1994) has translated it as saponaria juice.
[6] lotr – This term has not been recorded in encyclopaedias. According to Najib Mayil Hirawi in his book, “The Art of Bibliography in Islamic Civilization”, lotr might be a seed known as leeteh in Iran and that its mucilage was used for marbled paper.