ABSTRACT
The paper of numerous manuscripts is often decorated. The pages may be dyed, flecked with gold or silver, or marbled. Most of several techniques were executed on unsized paper. Indeed, soaking in dyes, or marbling, would remove the sizing. These types of paper are sized after dyeing, and polished like white paper. Some are used after simple soaking (while cold) or decoction (boiled) such as turmeric, saffron, henna. Others undergo a more complicated process, such as indigo and safflower. Several dyes are often grouped together under the name lak. Lac is an insect substance deposited on the exudation of certain trees (lacciferae); it is a dye that is well known and appreciated in Iran, although almost exclusively imported from India. Sapanwood is produced in the Caspian forests and in the Deccan. When it is fresh, it has a pale colour which reddens when exposed to air.
