Frist Quran manuscripts remained from early centuries of Islam, have been written on skin in Quran script, and are considered as the most important works of that times. Due to the very small amount of organic matter left over the past years, the study of these works has been very limited, so the information about these works is based only on library studies, including the information contained in the old books and comparative-historical studies. One of these works is a folio of a Quran manuscript with the size of 14.5 × 9.5 cm (Property no.: 1315) which is preserved in the Quran and Redaction Museum of Tabriz. According to the materials contained in the birth certificate, this manuscript has been transferred from Golestan Palace of Tehran to this museum during the past years. Experts have identified the material and information on this skin according to the type of textbook and eventually, its adaptation to similar works. Despite its historical and cultural values, it has not been yet investigated scientifically, neither from historical nor artistic point of view. Structural study not only can be useful in assessing the authenticity of the manuscript, but also provides a detailed account of the treatment of skin in the early stages of Islamic era. It should be noted that the results of the processing method can be cited if the authenticity of the manuscript could be proved. During this research, the processing technique and constituent elements, including bedding, type of bedding, and black and red inks on it were identified and studied. The objectives of this study include examining the authenticity of the work and, in the case of authenticity, obtaining documented results in the basin of the method of dermatology in the early years of Islam. Due to the historical, cultural and religious importance and, ultimately, the sampling constraints, non-destructive methods that require less sample were used. The strategies of this research are based on ancient metamorphic and laboratory studies, including spot tests as well as instrumental techniques. In this research, this artifact has been studied using UV photography to evaluate the authenticity, FTIR investigation to recognize the support material and make distinguish between the paper and skin, electron microscopy studies to identify the type of the animal whose skin has been used, SEM imaging to explore the morphology of cross section of the skin sample, and finally, SEM-EDX analysis to study the ink which has been used to write the manuscript. The spectra of the Fourier transform infrared spectrometry indicate the proteinaceous structure of the artwork, so the support of this manuscript is of skin and not paper, thus it can be called “skin” or “parchment”. The results obtained indicate that the support material of this folio is the skin of a type of sheep. The results of the analysis of the images obtained from the SEM are such that in some places there are microcircuits and gaps in the surface of the fiber that can be caused by the pressures introduced in the production process as well as by the effects of different factors over the time (such as atmospheric and environmental factors). It is worth noting, however, that these cracks and cracks do not have a serious effect on appearance, and the skin just has somewhat lost its softness. Regarding the dark ink, the result is not certain due to the presence of too many elements, however, according to the presence of copper, Motavvas (peacock) ink is suggested. Regarding the red ink, cinnabar is suggested as mercury and sulfur elements were identified. Authenticity investigation confirms that there is no evidence of erased or added line in this folio and it can be concluded that there is no evidence of forgery in the text and signature.

The first manuscript which has been identified in the technology of making luster glaze (enamel) is the book Arayes al-Javaher. This book was compiled by Abulqasim Abdullah Kashani in 700 AH and was very effective in making the luster glaze at that time, and introduced for the first time to the world in 1313 AD. The book Javaher Name-ye- Nezami was then introduced as the oldest and most detailed historical written document on the luster glaze, where more than 26 luster formulas have been included in the book. This valuable book was compiled in 592 AH by Mohammad ibn Abi al-Barakat Neyshabouri. Previously, it was believed that Javaher Name-ye- Nezami is the oldest written document on the luster enamel. But, the emergence of book of Jaber ibn Hayan, called al-Durra al-Meknuna in recent years, by Ahmad Yusof Alhasan, revealed correctly how the father of chemistry, Jaber, deals with luster enamel formulas. He was undoubtedly the source of chemical knowledge for other scholars in later centuries. It is very important that the emergence of glass in the second century was coincided with the emergence of the painted luster glass. At the moment, the manuscript al-Durra al-Meknuna was the oldest written document on golden-colored paintings (luster enamel), where it had widespread formulas in this field. This book also contains more formulas about the luster enamels than other historical books and can be important in terms of the origin and nature of the luster -plated technique. The treatise can be divided into four main themes. The first is on the manufacture of coloured glass. The second is on lustre painting of glass and the third is on the colouring of gemstones with descriptions of two furnaces for this purpose. The last one is concerned with the treatment of pearls and gives recipes for glues and other related materials. On the other hand, the treatise contains 118 recipes for talawih (lustre painting of glass), in addition to nine recipes inserted by the editor, al-Marrakishi. However, other books have limited number of formulas, for instance, Arayes Aljvaher and Javaher Name-ye- Nezami have two and thirty formulas, respectively. In a typical process described in the book, metallic ingredients, mainly burnt silver, burnt copper or copper compounds, iron and its compounds and cobalt blue, plus other materials such as cinnabar, magnesia, realgar, orpiment, sulphur, and vitriol, are pulverised individually in vinegar or citron juice and mixed together. Glass articles such as cups are painted and decorated by the colouring mixture and are then introduced into the smoke chamber in the oven. When the cups become black, they are withdrawn and allowed to cool. Then, they are washed until the colour appears, while by introducing them again into the fire, the colour intensifies and changes. Sometimes they are introduced into the fire once again and the colour becomes brighter. The furnace designed in the book is a type of traditional wood burning stoves, where it has four shafts and a fireplace chamber. Inside it, there is a relatively large chamber for the arrangement of ceramic products. In the upper part, there is a circular door that houses the entrance and exit of the furnace to arrange the products. This kind of furnace has been widely used in most regions of Iran. In relation to the term “Zarrin fam,” various items have been mentioned in the literature such as glaze, enamel, ink, talawih, luster, gold glaze, felez fam (metal fam), but in this research, the term “enamel” has been used. The book “al Durra al-Meknuna” has several formulas, so it is recommended that these formulas to be tested on glass and glaze in the future.

The raw and building material in historical papers are plant fibers that are into the category of non-woody or dicotyledonous plants. There are few sources that have mentioned these plants in Iran in different historical periods or even mentioned them in paper making. This research aims to find the types of historical paper fibers in the manuscripts available in the Malek National Library and Museum, which belong to the 5th, 7th to 12th centuries AH. Identify and adapt their structure to the fibers of current non-woody plants, which are most frequently referenced in library historical sources. To achieve this goal, laboratory methods based on microscopic examinations and Microchemical reagents (standard 9718 for paper fibers and Franklin method for plant fibers) were used. The results show that the main primary and structural compounds used in the study papers are the bast fibers of flax and hemp fibers, which have been used separately or in combination with cotton fibers. Because paper-making processes affect the morphology of the fibers, the presence of associated cells such as parenchyma, calcium oxalate crystals, etc. in the pulp of historical paper plays an important role in the correct identification of paper fibers. Although the presence of kenaf fibers in papermaking has been mentioned in some historical sources, it was not observed in the study samples in this research.

Copper and its alloys are prone to corrosion influenced by environmental factors. Corrosion can influence a lot of characteristics of historical artifacts, such as their apparent features and their visual appeal. It is common to observe proximity of metal and organic materials in historical artifacts, particularly in gilded manuscripts, where metal deterioration occurs from corrosive agents such as carboxylic acids, leading to greenish corrosion byproducts. This study examines four manuscripts from the Qajar era featuring metal decorations to identify the factors involved in corrosion of the metal areas. In the analyses conducted in this research FESEM-EDS, ATR-FTIR, Raman and pH measurement methods were used. The study identified a type of copper alloy in all four historical artifacts, which resembles brass. Based on samples derived from all four historical manuscripts, the adhesive agent that attached metal to the paper substrate was identified to be Arabic gum. The corrosion products were recognized as metal carboxylates, including copper and zinc carboxylates. Formates and acetates were also detected within the structure of the greenish corrosion byproducts. Areas with oily stains which were found in two of the samples, exhibited more pronounced corrosion, emphasizing the destructive impact of oil in formation of metal soaps, as also noted in the research literature. The corrosion byproducts in the metal areas have diminished the golden appearance of the decorations and penetrated the paper fibers. The acidity test revealed that the pH levels in the corroded areas were around one unit lower than in areas without metal presence. This difference is a significant factor in deteriorating the cellulose substrate through acid hydrolysis.