Dioscorides as an art technological source

The 2nd- century medical enciclopedia , [Peri ylez iatrikez] ("About Medical Materials") by Dioscorides is a useful source of information about early knowledge, availability, sources, trade, and preparation of numerous materials that were used by artists and craftsmen, such as pigments, dyes, resins and adhesives. Ulike Pliny or many later technical texts, Dioscorides' treatise was not derived from other sources. It provides an independent datable witness to the currency of certain materials and procedures. This paper comprehensively catalogues this information and discusses the implications of its inclusion, and uses it to clarufy certain ambiguities of technical terminology. The paper concludes with examples of the reworking and appropriation of extracts from Dioscorides for inclusion in craft texts: the "Leiden Papyrus X" and "Liber diversarum arcium". A translation of the Dioscorides extracts in "Leiden Papyrus X" is given in an appendix.