07-12-2025, 05:19 PM
I'm not at all convinced that the observation that there appear to be crystals on top of the foliation absolutely means that the pigment is later than the foliation. People seem to have very strong opinions about this question, and about the order of writing vs. pigment in general. I have to say - I don't see the point of this debate. Why do you (that is, anyone) think this matters? What does it tell us, really, that we didn't know before? Many manuscripts have color added or replaced later in life. It's not unusual or suspicious at all. It would be consistent with the manuscript having lived a long and complicated life, like most manuscripts, which is something we already knew.