Three-day course on Islamic Paper: history, technology, and practice.

From April 15-17th April, Radha Penday and I gave a three-day intensive course on Islamic paper, theory and practice, at the Institut National du Patrimoine, département des restaurateurs, Aubervilliers (France).

The course was attended by an enthusiastic and motivated gathering of 14 participants from France, Switzerland, the UK, Lebanon and the USA.

The course was divided into two parts, one theoretical and the other practical. The first part was devoted to the history and techniques of papermaking in Islamic lands, from Central Asia, where the technique was introduced after the battle of Talas, to Andalusian Spain. The course looked in detail at the introduction of the technique and its dissemination, the materials and tools used, and regional specificities. The second part reviewed current methods of analysis and identification of these papers.

A practical workshop enabled participants to make their own paper from hemp and linen fibers using Indo-Islamic techniques. While traditional methods were gradually abandoned in other regions, paper has continued to be handmade in India right up to the present day. Some papermakers, notably in Rajasthan, produce paper using materials derived from ancestral traditions. Radha Pandey’s workshop covered pulp preparation, sheet making, pressing, drying, dyeing, sizing and burnishing.

A huge thank to Ruscombe Paper Mill for supplying the pulp at the last minute, to INP for the organisation and to Marjorie Williams for her availability, dynasmism and translation.