Abigail Quandt, The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore

The purple codices: a report on current and future research and conservation treatment projects

Since Roman times the color purple has been a symbol of power and wealth and was used exclusively by emperors in the fabrication of luxurious textiles and other objects. Once Christianity was recognized as an official religion in the early 4th century the Church adopted the use of purple for dyeing vestments and other liturgical garments. Large format gospel books destined for display as symbolic objects on the altar were made from purple parchment and inscribed with gold and silver inks; some were richly illuminated. A surprisingly large group of 5th to 9th century Greek and Latin codices on purple parchment survives today, although some examples exist only as fragments. The Greek manuscripts were produced in the Byzantine East while the earliest Latin texts come from Ravenna, the 6th-century seat of King Theoderic, and the later examples from the courts of Charlemagne and other rulers. Some of these manuscripts have recently been analyzed and conserved, while future projects are planned with others. This presentation will provide an overview of the different manuscripts, their material characteristics (parchment, purple dyes, inks and pigments) and their physical condition. The silver ink of the earliest examples has severely corroded the parchment while further damage has been caused by fungi and bacteria. Several of the manuscripts were restored during the 20th century and these treatments will also be described. This lecture will be accompanied by a poster by Dr. Maurizio Aceto and his colleagues that will report on the results of analytical work that has recently been undertaken on a large number of the purple manuscripts and describe future research projects.