PIXE Analysis of Persian Miniature Used in 16th Century Poetry Manuscript

In Persian culture, precious poetry manuscripts used to be decorated by miniature paintings and illuminations to visualize the story of the poem to the reader. The Joseph and Zulaikha story written in Persian by Jami (1414-1492) is one of the poetry books which has attracted considerable attention and has been copied and decorated by calligraphers and painters several times. This paper will focus on characterization of Persian miniature of the Joseph and Zulaikha created in the 15th-16th century in the Bokhara school. To collect the required information for preservation, restoration, and authenticity of the masterpiece, the elemental composition of the applied pigments in the miniature paintings as well as the elemental composition of the employed ink and paper was analyzed by external PIXE.