Of Pigment and Parchment: Issues of Color
When perusing Barnard 1, one issue of conservation becomes immediately apparent: the state of the pigment used in the various illuminations and decorated initials has begun to flake off at numerous points. This occurs more frequently on the flesh side of the pages—a phenomenon that is common to medieval Italian manuscripts of the 14th and 15th centuries, due to some peculiarities of parchment-making practices in that time and place that cause the flesh-side to hold ink and paint less securely. The vast majority of color loss in Barnard 1 is found on the flesh-side of pages.
Another notable aspect of these areas is that it is overwhelmingly the blue pigment that flakes off more readily than the red. The likely reason for this stems from the available materials used to produce the blue color used throughout this manuscript: azurite was almost certainly used here to produce the blue pigment, as opposed to lapis lazuli, which was both more expensive and had to be sourced from much further afield. Although cheaper and more readily available, azurite does not hold up quite as well to the test of time as lapis lazuli, hence the significant loss that has occurred at many points.
By comparison, the red initials on this same page have held up very well. Most of the red ink in this book is likely vermillion, with occasional instances of red lead. Both of these adhere better to the page than azurite.
Even within the same page, however, we may have loss of color on one initial and not on another, even if presumably the same materials were used for each. Note, on this image, how the blue "U" at the top of the page is well-preserved, while that used for the backdrop of the "S" at the bottom is not. This kind of discrepancy can result from a number of factors. In this case, the curvature of the parchment appears to have led to more friction between pages at the area containing the "S", thus causing more abrasion than that found at the top of the page.
Illuminations are also subject to loss of color. This image of St. Anthony of Padua has clearly experienced damage. This possibly is a result of excessive touching or rubbing, but is perhaps more likely a result of contact with water, which was subsequently wiped off, thereby bringing paint with it.
Below, in the illumination representing the death of St. Francis, you can also see an instance where pigment has rubbbed off, lining up very clearly with the staff lines. When the staff lines were put into the manuscript, they raised the parchment ever so slightly. This has resulted in the paint coming off at precisely these lines, since they rub more easily against the opposite page.
For issues like those above, terms such as abrasion or flaking are applicable. These are cases in which the actual pigment has come off of the page entirely. This is distinct from fading, by which the ink/paint does not actually chip off, but instead loses its vibrancy and overall visibility over time. This occurs throughout Barnard 1 (as does smudging), usually in instances of notation or text, where iron-gall ink was used. The images below are clear examples of this kind of fading, as is the text and notation at the end of Page 1, as shown above.
