It is important to note that Izhar Neumann, Jacques Brejoux, and Jean-Louis Estève have all investigated Islamic papermaking methods prior to our work.2 There are a number of valuable references to Islamic papers including Bosch et al, Bloom, Karabacek, Loveday, Porter, and Soteriou, 3 but details about early historical materials and techniques published in English are lacking. This is due in part to the scarcity of information about Islamic papermaking in the archival record. Almost all sources reference the following passage from Umdat El Katab, or Staff of the Scribes and Implements of the Discerning, written by the eleventh-century scribe ibn Badis.4 The best white flax is purified from its reed. It is moistened and combed until it softens. Then it is soaked in quicklime a night until morning. It is then rubbed with the hands and spread out in the sun until all of it dries in the daylight. It is then returned to water of quicklime, not the first water. It is so the next night until morning. It is then rubbed a night as in the first rubbing and spread out in the sun. This is done so three or five or seven days. If the water of quicklime is changed twice a day, then it is better  If its whiteness is brought out, then cut it with the scissors little by little. It is then immersed in sweet water for seven days. The water is changed every day. When the quicklime has gone out from it, then it is pounded in a mortar very finely while it is moist. Then, nothing will be left of the lumps. Other water is put on it in a clean vessel. It is dissolved until it reaches a silky viscosity. Then it is introduced into the moulds in the desired size. These are made from the straw used for baskets, nails, and the walls are collapsible. Under it is an empty rib. The flax is beaten with the hand vigorously until it is mixed. Then it is thrown with the hand flat in the mould so that it will not be thick in one place and thin in another. When it is evened, then its water dries away. It is found proper in its mould. When the desired is attained, it is adjusted on a flat tablet. Then it is bound to a wall and straightened with the hand. It is left until it is dry. It separates and falls off. the best white flax is purified from its reed... Most researchers who study Islamic papers would agree that the most common fibers used were hemp or flax. This is evident from the historical references, but also from fiber microscopy studies done by conservation specialists including Barkeshli and Snyder.5 The ibn Badis description of fiber preparation is quite detailed compared to the vague description of the mould, sheetforming, pressing, and drying. For our Islamic-style papermaking we used textile-quality hemp sliver imported from China. We dry cut the fiber to 2.5-millimeter lengths using a German-made Pekrun flock cutter in lieu of the scissors described by ibn Badis. Instead of the lime soaks, rubbing, and sun bleaching we began with 700 grams of the dry fiber and cooked it in a 0.4-percent lime (calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2) solution for 3 hours. Fiber concentration in the solution was about 60 grams per liter. We then beat and washed the cooked fiber in a washer-equipped Reina beater. then it is introduced into the moulds in the desired size... Traditional Islamic moulds are generally not available so we designed our classroom moulds using as a model a full-size mould made for Tim Barrett in India in 1995. Pictures in Dard Hunter's book also helped to refine our plans.6 We found 16 x16-inch bamboo mats intended for storing calligraphy brushes and designed our moulds to fit them. Unfortunately, during sheetforming tests we discovered that the irregular splints in the mats caused poor drainage where neighboring splints touched each other, resulting in thin spots in the paper. Also, during couching we found that it was difficult to release the newly formed sheet from the chapri (flexible, removable mould surface). We therefore decided to make our own chapri from smaller-diameter grass and bamboo splints.7 Considerations included sourcing the best species of grass and bamboo, fabricating a machined metal plate for drawing bamboo splints, designing the weaving stands, selecting the appropriate thread, and determining what to use for the weighted bobbins. With research we eventually settled on feather reed grass (Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster') for the laid lines. We are still investigating the most promising species of bamboo for making chapri splints but our preliminary work indicates that Henon bamboo (Phyllostachys nigra var. henonis) or Makinoi (Phyllostachys makinoi) both provide splints that are dense, silky smooth, and reasonably flexible, qualities that suggest that they have the tight grain needed in a small-diameter drawn splint. The University of Iowa Physics and Astronomy Machine Shop produced several tempered-steel draw plates with hole diameters going from approximately 0.5 millimeters up to about 1.5 millimeters. The traditional bobbins used in Japan are turned from wood, bored out through the center, widened with a flared bit at both ends, and then filled with molten lead. Dana Haugaard turned our bobbins on a lathe by starting with a 14-inch section of one-inchdiameter birch dowel. Next Haugaard cut the individual bobbins free on a band saw, then did the final steps on a drill press. For the lead filling, we heated scrap lead sheet and wheel weights in a cast-iron crucible on a gas stove and poured the molten metal into the hollowed out bobbins. The finished bobbins weigh about 35 grams each. Barrett and Siedler built a wooden weaving stand based on similar tools documented in Japan.8 Siedler used the stand and the lead-filled bobbins to fabricate a feather reed grass and horsehair chapri. She sorted the horsehair, discarding any strand that was less than 0.006 inches in diameter because it proved too weak for weaving. Even the thicker hair would break under too much tension so great care was needed during the weaving process. The shorter sections of horsehair were connected with a simple slipknot as seen in traditional, Indian-made chapris. Horsehair chain lines, comprised of two hairs each, were tied together, cut to a length equal to 2.5 times the width of the finished chapri, and wound on bobbins; two bobbins per chain line. The grass sections were sorted by diameter and the thick and thin ends of the grass pieces were interchanged from one laid line to the next. In order to prepare for making bigger chapri in the future, one section of Siedler's chapri was purposely woven using small sections of grass butt spliced together with approximately one-inch-long bamboo splints inserted into the hollow inside diameter of the grass. As a final class project Mary Louise Sullivan explored the possibility of building a simple and much less costly weaving stand and bobbins for weaving a grass chapri.9 In lieu of wood, Sullivan used binder's board, PVA, a dowel, and packing tape. Sullivan's stand consists of eight interlocking pieces that can be easily assembled before use and then disassembled to be transported flat. The resulting product is sturdy while in use, portable, and economical. Sullivan designed a set of bobbins using PVC piping, copper end caps, rubber o-rings, lead shot, and super glue. She constructed a set of 16 bobbins, 2 per chain line. Each bobbin weighs approximately 50 grams. She wound each bobbin with #30 nylon beading thread (approximately 0.008 inch in diameter). This inexpensive, flexible thread held up well during weaving. The finished chapri did not stretch when picked up from the mould, and remained supple during couching. Sullivan, like Siedler, interchanged the thick and thin ends of the grass sections from one laid line to the next. The laid-line ends of the grass in the finished chapri are easily damaged. To protect them Sullivan sewed fabric around the edges of the chapri. The fabric edging also minimized the wear from the deckle sticks. Professionally made chapri typically wrap part of the beginning and end of the mat around a dowel and finish with a continued series of knots positioned to connect to the ends of the chainlines. The dowels are sized to match the height of the deckle sticks because the two dowels and two deckle sticks act to contain the pulp during sheetforming. We constructed the moulds from white oak, using traditional joinery. We cut the mortise holes in the top and bottom cross pieces with a square bit in a drill press. We cut the tenons on the side pieces on a table saw. To make the round dowel ends on the ribs, we first cut them square on the table saw, then trimmed them to a round dowel shape with a knife. We fashioned the deckle sticks from oak. When the woodworking was finished, we tapped the parts of the moulds in place with a wooden mallet. No varnish or other wood treatment was used. then it is thrown with the hand flat in the mould... Traditional sheetforming, or at least one contemporary version of it, is captured for viewing in a video Barrett recorded of Mohammad Hussain Kagzi at work in Sanganer, Rajasthan, India in 1995. Our approach was to mimic his motions at the vat as much as possible. A particularly curious aspect of the process (that Alexandra Soteriou has witnessed repeatedly in India and Pakistan) is a specific series of motions during which Kagzi double dips the mould while making a single sheet. First, Kagzi dips the mould into the vat in a manner not unlike Western sheetforming. Then he floats the mould on the surface of the vat, shaking it gently side to side. Grasping the deckle sticks to hold the chapri tight to the mould, he pushes the side of the mould closest to him down into the vat, just enough to make the lead edge of the new fragile sheet lift up and away from the mould surface. Immediately, he releases the downward pressure, and the sheet comes to rest back down against the surface of the chapri. He raises the mould again and makes a second, shallow dip into the vat, and floats the sheet as before. He repeats the downward push and release, brings the mould out of the vat and sets it to rest on a cross stick. He removes the deckle sticks, picks up the chapri, and couches the sheet against a pile of previously stacked sheets. No felts are used. We believe that the downward push of the mould and the floating of at least part of the sheet are intended to make the couching easier, and to ensure easier parting after pressing. Peter Tschudin has compared the different translations of the Umdat al-kuttab into English and German.10 He points out that any description of the sheet-formation process is heavily influenced by the background of the translator. Tschudin comes to the conclusion that Arabic paper was produced by pouring the pulp into a floating mould. It might be possible that both pouring and dipping techniques existed in the Islamic world, as seen today in India. then it is bound to a wall and straightend with the hand... Traditionally sheets were brushed onto a plastered wall for drying. Instead we used pieces of interfacing in lieu of felts, pressed the stack of finished sheets at 30 tons in a Reina press, and then dried the sheets in spurs of 10 to 12 sheets each. The interfacing minimized cockling and helped in separating the sheets after drying. Siedler experimented with drying the sheets on boards of ½-inch A/C plywood painted by Lynn Amlie with a semi-gloss, water- based white paint. We pressed the sheets at about 25 tons and brushed hard when transferring the sheets to the boards. Drying had to be done very slowly to avoid the sheets coming off the board before drying. It is the pronounced treatment of the paper surface that distinguishes Islamic papers from any other kind of paper. It is important to note that the papermaker was not the only one who applied sizing to paper. Techniques of surface treatments were part of the training of calligraphers and there is some evidence that paper merchants would sometimes prepare burnished papers. Recipes for paper beautification can be found in manuals for calligraphers but unfortunately they are rarely detailed and tend to differ by date and region. Islamic papers that are intended for writing and painting are always surface sized and burnished. Sizing was frequently prepared by boiling finely ground wheat flour or starch in water. However, a wide range of other sizing materials, generally referred to with the term ahar, is mentioned in historical recipes. They include rice flour, fish glue, gum Arabic, grape syrup, sweet melon juice, rice mucilage, sugar syrup, myrtle juice, gum tragacanth, cucumber seeds, alum water, and egg white mixed with alum.11 The papermaker applied the size by spreading it over one side of the paper with a clean rag or a brush. After the paper dried the other side was sized. Another method was the immersion of sheets in a tub filled with sizing. The dried sheets were then polished. Burnishing tools were made out of polished glass, stone, agate, onyx, or shell. During the rubbing process the paper was backed by a concave, wooden board. In a sixteenth-century poem by Mawlana Sultan ‘Ali, the burnishing process is described as follows: The paper must be polished so That no creases appear in it. The board for polishing should be wiped clean With a strong hand, but neither hard, nor softly.12 For our Islamic-style paper we prepared a 2-percent, foodgrade, wheat starch solution (20 grams per liter). We soaked the starch in cool water for 15 minutes and boiled it over medium high heat for at least 20 minutes, stirring constantly. We cooled down the solution and filtered it. We found application with a brush to be the most suitable method. After both sides dried, we burnished the paper with a bone folder on a wooden board. We found that the starch-coated paper will be significantly more receptive to polishing if it is slightly damp. Working in a highly humid environment works best, but it is also possible to lightly dampen the paper using any type of humidification enclosure (such as a plastic bag into which a damp blotter, interfacing separator, and the paper to be burnished have been placed). Another way of facilitating burnishing is to rub a piece of fabric or felt over a bar of soap and then rub it across the paper surface to cover the paper with a very thin layer of soap. This will allow the burnishing tools to slide smoothly. However care must be taken that any residual soap does not interfere with ink or other media. In our experience, to achieve a high gloss on both sides of a one-foot-square (30 x 30 centimeters) sheet of paper, roughly 13 minutes of burnishing is required. See Siedler's paper sample and description following this article for more details on burnishing. In the future, our hope is to inspect a wide range of historical Islamic papers in various collections and to use those observations to inform continued efforts to make traditional sheets. We also hope what we learn about traditional techniques will help us to develop innovative and new papers for use in the associated disciplines of the book arts. ___________ notes 1. Katharina Siedler, "Starch Sized Hemp Paper," final project, 108:132 Islamic/ Asian Papermaking History and Technique class, University of Iowa Center for the Book, Iowa City, Fall 2010. Amelia Bird 108:132 "Arab Paper Sizing and Burnishing," final project, 108:132 Islamic/Asian Papermaking History and Technique class, University of Iowa Center for the Book, Iowa City, Fall 2010. 2. Izhar Neumann gave a presentation on his construction of an Islamic-style chapri mould surface and paper at the meeting of the International Association of Paper Historians in Barcelona, Spain in 2006. Details are available from Neumann at izuharu@gmail.com. The details of Islamic-style papermaking experiments by Jacques Bréjoux, are available online in French, "Le papier arabe ou papier islamique FABRICATION DE FACSIMILE DE PAPIER ARABO-ANDALOUS du XIIème au XVème siècle" (2001), http://www.moulinduverger.com/papier-main/ article-8.php (accessed July 1, 2012). Jean-Louis Estève has published extensively on Islamic papermaking in the French journal Gazette du Livre Medieval: "Le Zigzag dan les Papier Arabes" (2001, vol. 38, 40–49); "Observation sur la disposition des vergeures dans les papiers arabo-andalous Notes et discussions" (2001, vol. 39, 48–50); and "Zigzag ou vergeure "raboutees"? Le case du ms. Persan 126 de la Bibliotheque nationale de France. Notes et Discussions" (2003, vol. 42, 47–50). English language versions of these articles are available by writing him at jeanlouis. esteve@neuf.fr. 3. See the following sources for more on Islamic papermaking. Gulnar K. Bosch, John Carswell, and Guy Petherbridge, Islamic Bindings and Bookmaking (Chicago: Oriental Institute, University of Chicago, 1981). Jonathan Bloom, Paper Before Print: The History and Impact of Paper in the Islamic World (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001). Josef Karabacek, Arab Paper. Translated by Baker, Don and Suzy Dittmar (London: Islington Books Ltd., 1991). Helen Loveday, Islamic Paper: A Study of the Ancient Craft (London: Don Baker Memorial Fund, 2001). Yves Porter, Painters, Paintings and Books: An Essay on Indo-Persian Technical Literature, 12–19th Centuries (New Delhi: Manohar, 1994). Alexandra Soteriou, Gift of Conquerors: Hand Papermaking in India (Ahmedabad, India: Mapin Publishing, 1999). 4. Translation of ibn Badis text by Martin Levy (1962) appears in Islamic Bindings and Bookmaking, by Gulnar K. Bosch, John Carswell, and Guy Petherbridge (Chicago: Oriental Institute, University of Chicago, 1981). 5. See Mandana Barkeshli, "Historical and Scientific Analysis of Iranian Illuminated Manuscripts and Miniature Paintings," in Contributions to the Symposium on the Care and Conservation of Middle Eastern Manuscripts (Melbourne, Australia: Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation, The University of Melbourne, 2007), 74–88. And see Janet G Snyder, "Appendix 10: Study of the Paper of Selected Paintings from the Vever Collection," in An Annotated and Illustrated Checklist of the Vever Collection, by Glenn Lowry and Milo Cleveland Beach (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1988), 433–44. 6. Dard Hunter, Papermaking: The History and Technique of an Ancient Craft (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1947), 104–107. 7. Chapri are typically made from grass, however, fine bamboo splints are sometimes used to butt splice the grass sections together. Furthermore, we wanted to make strong all-bamboo chapri for classroom use. 8. Timothy Barrett, Japanese Papermaking: Traditions, Tools, and Techniques (New York: Weatherhill, 1983). 9. Mary Louise Sullivan, "A Study in the Weaving of a Grass Chapri Used in the Traditional Islamic Style of Papermaking," special project, 108:132 Islamic/Asian Papermaking History and Technique class, University of Iowa Center for the Book, Iowa City, Fall 2011. Contact Sullivan for PDFs of drawings of the weaving stand at mary-sullivan@uiowa.edu. 10. Peter F. Tschudin, "Zu Geschichte und Technik des Papiers in der Arabischen Welt," International Paper History, vol. 8, no. 2 (1998): 20–24. 11. A modern recipe for the preparation of egg white ahar can be found on the website of the calligrapher Mohamed Zakariya, http://www.zakariya.net (accessed July 31, 2012). See also Mandana Barkeshli, "Historical and Scientific Analysis on Sizing Materials Used in Iranian Manuscripts and Miniature Paintings," The Book and Paper Group Annual vol. 22 (2003): 9–16. 12. Qadi Ahmad, On Ruling, Gilding, Diluting Lapis Lazuli, Preparing Various Colors, Ink and Other Accessories of a Kitab-khana in Calligraphers and Painters: A Treatise by Qadi Ahmad, Son of Mir-Munshi (circa A.H. 1015/A.D. 1606), translated from the Persian by V. Minorsky, Freer Gallery of Art Occasional Papers vol. 3, no. 2 ( June 1959): 114.

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