QUR’AN MANUSCRIPTS INITIATIVESPECIALIST TRAINING

The Colours of Arabic Manuscripts

Painting and Writing Materials in Arabic Manuscripts: Pigments, Paints and Inks (9th–19th Century)


Amélie Couvrat Desvergnes Conservator · Researcher · Specialist in Islamic and South Asian Manuscripts
PhotographIlluminated folio — decoration in detail

Can’t attend live?

The session will be recorded.

The recording will be shared with registered participants after the session. You can register even if you cannot attend the live session.

Date
5 October 2026
Time
12 PM–6 PM CEST
Format
Live Online · Zoom
Duration
6 Hours
Language
English
Price
USD 45
Register & Pay

Course Overview


Supported by extensive visual documentation and case studies, this 6-hour online course offers a comprehensive introduction to the materials and techniques used to produce the paints and inks that shaped the rich tradition of Arabic manuscript production, from its earliest manifestations to the modern period.

Participants will discover the composition, manufacture, and application of the colouring and writing materials employed by scribes and painters across more than a millennium of manuscript culture.

PhotographPigments and preparation
Painting box, India, 20th century. Rietberg Museum collection.

The Material World of the Manuscript

Four details from the world the course examines: the colours, the inks, and the surfaces they were applied to.

PhotographPigment
PigmentBlue material and its pestle in a stone mortar.
PhotographPainted folio
Painted manuscriptGold, blue and black meeting in a detail of decoration.
PhotographInk detail
InkA dish of dark ink.
PhotographProduction detail
Preparing paintYellow paint worked on a glass slab, with pigments alongside.

Learning Outcomes


By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

  1. 01

    Understand the principal materials used to produce paints and inks in Arabic manuscripts.

  2. 02

    Distinguish between pigments, dyes, paints, inks, binders, and additives, and understand their respective roles.

  3. 03

    Recognise the main categories of historical pigments and inks and their characteristic properties.

  4. 04

    Gain an overview of the palette employed by Arabic scribes and painters from the 9th to the 19th century.

PortraitAmélie Couvrat Desvergnes

Amélie Couvrat Desvergnes

Conservator · Researcher · Specialist in Islamic and South Asian Manuscripts


Amélie Couvrat Desvergnes is an independent conservator working on paper artworks, books, maps, posters, 3D paper objects, modern art, etc. She received her M.A. in Conservation from the University Panthéon-Sorbonne-Paris in 2002.

She worked for 10 years as a freelancer in France, 5 years at the Museum of Islamic Art in Qatar and 2 years at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

From 2020 to 2023, she led a conservation and research project at the Wereldmuseum in Leiden. In 2024–2025, she was project conservator at the KB – National Library of the Netherlands in The Hague.

She specialises in Islamic and South Asian manuscripts and works on paper. Her interests lie in materiality, materials, techniques, function, and social and historical context.

Professional Experience

  • M.A. Conservation2002University Panthéon-Sorbonne-Paris
  • Museum of Islamic Art5 yearsQatar
  • Rijksmuseum2 yearsAmsterdam
  • Wereldmuseum2020–2023Leiden
  • KB – National Library2024–2025The Hague

Teaching & Research

Teaching

  • Paris la Sorbonne
  • University of Amsterdam
  • University of Heidelberg
  • National Library of Qatar
  • Institut National du Patrimoine, Paris
  • Yale University Library

Research

Research on the materiality of Islamic manuscripts and Indian paintings and drawings.

Learn alongside an international scholarly community.

Serious study.
Shared inquiry.

QMI specialist training brings together researchers, students, conservators, librarians and scholars interested in Arabic manuscripts and manuscript studies.

  • International community
  • Specialist knowledge
  • Serious scholarship
  • Live teaching
  • Exchange of expertise
Documentary photographParticipants in a QMI specialist training session

Qur’an Manuscripts Initiative


QMI develops specialist programs focused on Arabic manuscripts, Qur’anic manuscripts, manuscript studies, codicology, palaeography, materiality and related areas of research.

This is the 7th specialist training course by QMI.

PortraitAhmed W. Shaker
Ahmed W. ShakerDirector

Your Registration Includes

  • Illustrated Guidebook

    A guidebook supporting the course material.

  • Certificate of Attendance

    Certificate for registered participants.

  • Live Online Session

    Six hours of live specialist instruction via Zoom.

  • Session Recording

    The recording will be shared with registered participants after the session.