Near Eastern manuscripts

The Bancroft Library has acquired an extraordinary collection of
ancient manuscripts from the Near East. These texts, many with clay
seal impressions, are written in Middle Persian, or Pahlavi, the
language of the Sasanian dynasty of pre-Islamic Iran. After
carbon-14 testing the date range was established as 600-888 AD.
There are 260 cloth and leather manuscripts, 82 of which still have
one or more clay bullae (seals) attached. They vary in size from 2 x
1 inches to 6 x 8 inches. Some of them need flattening to view the
writing but we wish to consult on the dangers of humidification of
materials this old. Has anyone had any experience with such
materials. We are conferring with Madeleine Fang, but would like to
know of anyone who might have dealt with leather and cloth of this
period.

Gillian C. Boal
Special Collections Conservator
Preservation Department
Room 9, Doe Library
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720
510-643-7932
Fax: 510-642-4664


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 17:43
               Distributed: Wednesday, November 26, 2003
                       Message Id: cdl-17-43-016
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