In the context of this artwork, explore the Tempera technique combined with pastiglia of the Painting technique.
Compared to the lacquer technique on frames and panels, the cornice and horizontal in-fills are painted in a tempera technique. The ground on both elements is made of gypsum in a proteinaceous binding medium. The ground is very thick on areas that are gilded. On the horizontal in-fills with inscriptions the letters were accented in a pastiglia technique, which is composed of gypsum, white lead and cinnabar in a proteinaceous binding medium. The Arabic word for this technique is al-‘adjami. Then gold leaf was applied and the entire panel was varnished with oil-copal lacquer as a final step. In these horizontal in-fills can be found the only traces of overpainting with smalt on the letters.
Arabic