IFLA-illustrated-presentation June2015

Timbuktu Manuscripts Project

Lessons in understanding and preserving Africa’s manuscript heritage

Timbuktu | a place of history and myth

Timbuktu’s manuscripts

“… hither are brought divers manuscripts or written books out of Barbary, which are sold for more money than any other merchandise.”

- Leo Africanus,

16th century traveller.

Timbuktu’s private libraries and manuscript collections

Timbuktu’s manuscripts have traditionally been held by private individuals or families.

This remains so the case even today, with the overwhelming number held in private collections.

Only relatively recently in Timbuktu’s history, have manuscripts begun to be collected by government institutions.

Timbuktu | geography and climate

Timbuktu is located on the edge of the Sahara desert, known as the Sahel. The city is at the northern-most bend of the River Niger.

For the most part the climate is very hot and arid. There are periods of intense cold, especially during the winter nights. Rain occurs infrequently.

Timbuktu’s climate | dry and arid conditions

Hot and dry conditions cause an acceleration of the natural degradation of paper and leather.

Hot and dry conditions exacerbate the impact and nature of damage to manuscripts.

The effects of the extreme climate impact significantly on the condition of the manuscripts.


The lack of humidity affects the manuscripts, leading to the embrittlement of paper.

Paper becomes less flexible and prone to progressive damage and loss through “chipping”.

Chipping results from a combination of a lack of humidity and mechanical damage through use and handling of the manuscripts.

Sand, dust and dirt are everywhere


The lack of humidity (below 30 %) also causes the covering materials to dry out.

Covers begin to deteriorate

in the adverse conditions, and, eventually to cause damage to the contents.


Manuscript covers are also damaged by the adverse conditions.

Due to the harsh

climate, many manuscript covers have become so damaged that they no longer can perform their protective function.

Timbuktu’s climate | water damage

Despite the arid and hot climate, most manuscripts have evidence of water damage.

Short periods of high humidity occur during infrequent spells of rain, placing yet more strain on the manuscripts.

Occasionally, some a manuscript will show evidence of staining associated with mould growth.

Conservation challenges| ink corrosion

Ink corrosion has been observed in manuscripts. It was the practice of scribes and scholars to make up their own ink, therefore, the recipes used on each manuscript is likely to vary with regard to the corrosive elements within the ink.

Conservation challenges| damaged covers

Covers that have ceased to perform their protective functions pose a conservation challenge.

Ethical conservation treatment requires the respect of the context of the manuscript, it has a history. – means keeping all items.

Conservation challenges| insect activity

Termites cause immense harm to manuscripts. Severe damage can only become evident, once manuscripts covers are opened.

Conservation challenges| handling and storage

Historically, the portability of manuscripts seems to have been an important factor. Populations were either seasonally or permanently mobile.

Manuscripts were also traded over great distances over time.

Manuscripts are often kept in trunks, even if kept in a dwelling.

Fragile paper is easily damaged further by handling, often inappropriate to the condition of the paper and manuscript.

Conservation challenges| inappropriate conservation methods and training

Sustainability was an important factor in the design of the conservation project.

Emphasis was placed on training Malians in order to provide a pool of skilled people, able to continue conservation work independently to ensure conservation activities continued.

Additionally, to devise and teach methods appropriate to the climate and conditions found in Timbuktu in collaboration with the Malian counterparts.

Conservation challenges| sustainable conservation practises for Timbuktu

Conservation methods and practices introduced to Timbuktu had to be sustainable and appropriate to the environment and recourses available.

Most pressing preservation and conservation repair issues were identified and worked on during successive visits and field work visits by the conservation team.

Previous attempts at conservation had not succeeded, in part, a lack of follow-up and support for the conservation work; as well as, a disregard for the circumstances found in Timbuktu.

Conservation challenges| sustainable conservation practises for Timbuktu

Surface cleaning, with appropriate techniques and tools.

Ditching white cotton gloves provided by a previous conservation project.

Protective enclosures for individual manuscripts.

All conservation practices had to be evaluated for their appropriateness and due regard for conservation treatment ethics.

Conservation practises| protective enclosures

A range of protective enclosures can be used to provide protection for manuscripts.

Enclosures are made from high-quality board and book-binder’s cloth.

Each protective box or portfolio is made to the dimensions of an individual manuscript.

Standard protective enclosures can be modified to create more suitable protective environments for individual manuscripts.

Conservation practises| surface cleaning

The presence of surface dirt was identified as one of the most basic challenges that had to be dealt with.

Surface cleaning techniques appropriate to the very fragile and brittle paper were taught.

Some adaptations of the standard surface cleaning methods were created. A tray with very high walls was built to work in (pictured), as the breeze from the open windows (needed for ventilation) tended to scatter the very light paper.

Conservation practises| replacement covers

Separation of severely damaged covers from manuscript contents.

Construction of new conservation replacement cover, within the style and construction of West African Islamic manuscripts. Using locally sourced goat leather, with archival grade board and paper.

Housing all elements together in a single protective enclosure - nothing is discarded.

Conservation practises| supportive pillows for covers

Covers separated from their contents require support in order to maintain their shape over time.

Support is provided by means of an internal pillow made to the dimensions of the individual cover.

Additional protection for the cover is provided by means of a quilted cover.

The supportive pillow remains in place, if the cover is put on display.

Conservation practises| supportive pillows for manuscript satchels

Support pillows were also made for manuscript pouches that could no longer house the manuscripts.

The supportive pillows would remain in place, even when the item was put on display.

The manuscripts of Timbuktu | a distinct tradition

West African Islamic manuscripts and their making remain relatively under studied, compared to other manuscript traditions.

West African Islamic manuscripts appear to constitute a distinct tradition within the wider pan Islamic manuscript tradition.

The manuscripts of Timbuktu | part of a distinct regional tradition

Manuscript satchel or pouch

for an incomplete copy of a Quran in the Ahmed Baba’s collection.


Pouches not only physically protected the Quran from actual physical damage; but also protected the sacred work from pollution through contact with polluting agents that could damage the ritual purity of the scared text.


Manuscript covers conformed to general Islamic manuscript structure and aesthetic; with characteristics associated with West African Islamic manuscript composition, namely the use of ties to bind the manuscript when closed.


Manuscript cover open, showing the distinctive shape of Islamic manuscript covers

The manuscripts of Timbuktu | evidence of human agency in the making of a mss

Mastara made from leather and string, found at the start of a manuscript.

Mastara are guides used by scribes to rule pages before writing.


Paper was placed over the mastara and rubbed down to create lines that appeared as furrowed indentations in the paper.

Mastara lines vary in complexity between manuscripts.


Repairs to torn paper were sewn with thread.

These types of repairs were not often found.


Evidence of sewing was rare.

The arid climate and brittleness of the paper probably contributed toward the breakage and loss of sewing structures that did exist.

No surviving sewing structures encountered in manuscripts of West African tradition.

The manuscripts of Timbuktu | textile

Textiles were used to construct manuscripts.

Woven textile strips of cotton, were adhered and stiffened to create boards for the manuscript cover.

The manuscripts of Timbuktu | reused paper

Reuse of waste or discarded materials.

The manuscripts of Timbuktu | watermarked paper

Many pages from the manuscripts pages show watermarks, laid and chain lines consistent with hand made European-manufactured paper.

Extensive trade networks that served Timbuktu saw paper imported from Europe reaching Timbuktu. Paper was imported in the form of written manuscripts, as well as blank paper.

Modern, mechanically produced paper is also present.


Watermarks are still a bit of a curiosity. They cannot help to identify when paper was made or by whom, beyond very broad outlines.

Watermarks helped during the conservation process. Allowing the conservator team to find evidence that the now separate pages were, at one time folios, and to recreate the sequence of folios into quires.


Watermarks are also a potential conservation issue.

Paper fibres of some watermarks are so thinly spread over the image that certain parts of the paper could be lost .

Indigenous craft and manufacturing knowledge| leather work

Two of the Malian conservator-trainees were skilled leather goods makers.

Using locally manufactured leather would support the local economy and ease the complicated procurement process.

Also an opportunity for the other Malian and South African team members to acquire an understanding of traditional leather working skills.


Women from the Bella tribe preparing the skin for tanning by de-hairing the skin, prior to actual tanning.


Skins were washed to remove any residue from the tanning process.


Excess water scraped from the skins after washing.

Oil (machine oil) was sparingly

applied to the skin.

The skins were left overnight to dry.


Dried skins are prepared for being used to cover a manuscript.

Skin is being burnished to flatten the grain, seal the skin surface and polish the leather.

Any use of dyes or pigments would have to be done before burnishing.


After the leather’s burnishing, the leather was pared down to create a more flexible skin that allowed for the opening and closing of cover.

Beyond Timbuktu| West African Islamic manuscript tradition

Despite the romance associated with Timbuktu's manuscripts, there is a much wider manuscript tradition, deserves study.

The whole Sudanic region of Africa has been described as being “awash” with manuscripts. The race is on to catalogue and translate the contents.

However, the manuscript-making tradition also needs to be understood. It has regional variations and adaptations that point to a rich and deep tradition that deserves concerted study and much wider recognition than it currently seems to enjoy.

Beyond Timbuktu| West African Islamic manuscript tradition

There is progress, academic research understands the importance of understanding the manuscript culture. The work awaiting is vast in scope and quantity.

So much more needs to be understood about distinctive local traditions, how the syncretic incorporation of more modern materials.

There is a sense of a race against time before yet more manuscripts are lost to disaster and theft. In the hurry to salvage what is still available, aspects of the manuscripts may be over looked.

Thank you

Documents

IFLA-illustrated-presentation June2015