Joumana Medlej

@majnouna

Artist-scholar, specialised in early Arabic (Kufi) scripts & historical/natural materials. Interest in material culture & things real. Beirut émigré in Oxford. Earth lover, plastic-free. Contemplative. Whovian/Gallifrey… Links:

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Joumana Medlej@majnouna· 1d

I'm continuing to transcribe Umda manuscripts in preparation for working on the edition, and I just typed half a paragraph before realising I didn't switch the keyboard 🤦‍♀️

Screencap showing Arabic manuscript text being transcribed, some typed arabic, and three lines of apparent gibberish typed on a latin keyboard

Joumana Medlej@majnouna· 1d

I know this isn’t what you want to see on the eve of another heatwave, but woohoo it’s done! I only started this darn thing in april… 2024 🙈 Pattern: Jura by Trin-Annelie #knitting

Long thick dark blue wool cardigan seen from the front

The same from the back, showing a subtle pattern

Joumana Medlej@majnouna· 2d

New on #Caravanserai: A close-up look at some wonderful objects currently on display at the exhibition: Embroidery Traditions of #Afghanistan majnouna.substack.com/p/embroidery... #textiles #womensart #embroidery

Title card for the article showing a close-up photo of an embroidered panel with beaded fringe under the title

Joumana Medlej@majnouna· 2d

One finally finished cardigan, coming up… #knitting

Knitted cardigan, ink blue, with pockets, drying flat after soaking

Joumana Medlej@majnouna· 4d

I went for an early morning walk by the river. The highlight: several minutes listening to two sparrowhawks (all recorded, wish I could post audio files!) I didn't manage to see them but I roughly know where their nest is, so I'll be back... #birdwatch

Merlin Bird ID app showing all the birds heard over 12 minutes: chifchaff, willow warbler, blue tit, sparrowhawk, treecreeper, long-tailed tit, wren, great tit, carrion crow, jackdaw and ring-necked parakeet.

Joumana Medlej@majnouna· 5d

Progress report: one pocket to go! Totally lost count of the number of Poirot episodes. #knitting

Pocket on my cardigan in progress. Laptop playing a Poirot episode in the background

Joumana Medlej@majnouna· 6d

Coming to London to catch a show feels indulgent but it does wonders for inspiration! Embroidery Traditions of Afghanistan at SOAS (will write a piece on this soon) and Miya Ando at Sundaram Tagore Gallery.

Wall of 72 small works by Miya Ando representing the 72 micro seasons of Japan, each showing clouds painted on a metallic background.

Wall of 12 metal panels painted with an abstract layering of hues, representing the early, middle and late part of each of the four seasons and based on the historical kasane tradition

Joumana Medlej@majnouna· 6d

😅

Joumana Medlej@majnouna· 8d

want to learn more about Kufi than book knowledge can convey, I've just uploaded a major talk I gave last year: youtu.be/vWls05pxI6w For an even closer look here's a longer lecture I gave at the Khalili Research Institute in Oxford: youtu.be/hwswRkDN3A0

Title screen of the talk Reclaiming Kufi: A deeper understanding for more rooted creation. Lecture by joumana medlej

Joumana Medlej@majnouna· 9d

I wasn’t expecting to still find plums but I was happily surprised! These are so ripe and simply divine. I’m making ice cream (plum-rum-cardamom) with those I’m not just gobbling up. #foraging

Joumana Medlej@majnouna· 10d

Turns out this sleeve that was abandoned half-done nearly two years ago (🙈) only needed four Poirot episodes to be done. Let’s see what the second sleeve will take…

Joumana Medlej@majnouna· 11d

Dug up a picture from the Tripoli souks for #caturday.

A ginger cat on a shop counter in front of a colourful wall of rolls of fabric

Joumana Medlej@majnouna· 12d

Garden harvest ❤️

Large dry poppy seed pods next to a small bowl fill of poppy seeds

Joumana Medlej@majnouna· 13d

That day when I was looking through a 14th-century romance. First impression: That's not a very good stag, is it... Closer look: OMG LOOOOOL #medievalmanuscripts

Bottom half of a manuscript page where we can see a drum player and an odd-looking stag.

A close-up on the stag reveals that it's a man-made costume: the two hind legs are human feet, the fore legs are a cane or crutch, and a human face can be seen peering out through the fur of the chest

Joumana Medlej@majnouna· 14d

I’m told this is Simpkin IV, chief mouser of Hertford College… A bit of a misanthrope but who can blame him.

Handsome black cat clearly uninterested in being approached or petted.

Joumana Medlej@majnouna· 14d

Another old photo I've dug up: dye tests on silk. The thread dyed with pomegranate flower is shown next to a swatch of ink made with the same, illustrating the fact dyeing with a colourant and applying it to the surface usually result in very different hues. #naturaldyes

A bobbin of bright yolk-yellow thread, labelled "saffron", and one of muted yellow like wet straw marked "pomegranate flower", next to which a swtach of bright red-orange is painted.

Joumana Medlej@majnouna· 14d

Drain or remove with slotted spoon, run some cold water to rinse off the last traces of lemon juice, and let cool. This is called Areeshe (قريشة), which is cottage cheese. It's often served in restaurants on its own with just a drizzle of honey. 4/8

Cottage cheese after draining, in a cheese cloth resting inside a colander

Joumana Medlej@majnouna· 14d

Step 1: Heat 1.5L (6C) milk, stirring often, till it starts steaming and you just see bubbles around the pot. Switch off heat. Add juice of 1 lemon and stir. Allow curds to form. 3/8

Milk curdling in the pot after lemon juice has been added

Joumana Medlej@majnouna· 14d

Today's rescued thread is a #foodie one: how to make Ashta*, a #Lebanese clotted cream used to stuff pastries – or as below, dried apricots (after soaking). Here's how to make Ashta with whole milk** + lemon + cornstarch. (Yes there are different versions. This is the one I like.) 1/8

A large dish covered in dried apricots stuffed with a thick clotted cream, accompanied by a bottle of agave syrup

Joumana Medlej@majnouna· 15d

Dug up these photos: roasting yellow ochre to redden it, before and after. A geological process that can be recreated in a pan. (Red ochre is essentially dehydrated yellow ochre.)

Bright yellow ochre powder in a stainless steel pan

Joumana Medlej@majnouna· 16d

Nearly having a stroke seeing this crossover of fairytale and propaganda presented as history for the purpose of clout-chasing. Particularly as I gave an in-depth talk for the benefit of these people last year. Never again… If you can bear gilded horseshit, it's here www.instagram.com/p/DbQpAv6twm6/

Joumana Medlej@majnouna· 18d

Learning about the Melsonby Hoard at the Yorkshire Museum. The whole thing’s amazing, but what really caught my eye is the way copper vessels corroded way past verdigris to turn jnto copper carbonates —malachite and even azurite!

Copper lid almost entirely turned a deep green with deep blue areas

Part of a crushed copper cauldron, entirely covered in what looks like green malachite and deep blue azurite

Joumana Medlej@majnouna· 18d

And please enjoy the expression on this cat who’s being carried in a most unorthodox way. “Unhand me, madam.”

A blue cat held up in one hand like a ball and looking none too amused

Joumana Medlej@majnouna· 18d

Two adorable details: a cat causing a commotion by pouncing on a courtesan’s trailing kimono, and another, “puppy-patterned” kimono 🥺

Joumana Medlej@majnouna· 18d

I also loved this one: Kitagawa Utamaro’s Block-Carver and Applying Sizing, 1803, where he replaced the usual craftsmen of the print studio with elegant women. We see them carving woodblocks, sharpening cutting tools, and sizing paper before hanging it to dry.

Close-up on one woman and her delicate kimono patterns

Joumana Medlej@majnouna· 19d

the evacuation of the castle during the great fire of 1844. The guards wear black and white uniforms and carry naginata, bladed weapons with a long shaft that were particularly favoured by samurai women.” ✊ Check out the embossing work in this detail!!

Close up showing intricate embossed patterns in the white fabric

Joumana Medlej@majnouna· 19d

Here’s one panel from an amazing triptych by Hashimoto Chikanobu: Evacuation of Chiyoda Palace, 1896. “An elite guard of female samurai were responsible for protecting the women who occupied the inner palace of Chiyoda Castle, the seat of power in Edo-period Japan. They are shown here overseeing —

Panel showing two black-clad samurai women, one on a horse and one carrying a nigata, with a third silhouetted in the smoke of the background

Joumana Medlej@majnouna· 19d

They do have a Great Wave from the *original print run* on display and that alone was worth the trip.

Visitors looking at framed prints against a deep blue wall, the great wave standing out clearly in the centre

Close-up: The Great Wave off Kanazawa by Hokusai, in the originally intended colours and materials but with the patina of time

Joumana Medlej@majnouna· 19d

Arrived in York and straight to what brought me here!

The hall of York Art Gallery with the impressive entrance to Making Waves, an exhibition of Japanese woodblock prints, featuring a giant rendering of Hokusai’s wave

Joumana Medlej@majnouna· 20d

Turning my thoughts away from the bad-to-worse political scene, to once again focus on transcribing the various witnesses of an 11th-century inkmaking manual (as I'm confirmed to start editing it come September) – and it's amazing the peace I feel copying instructions for making gold burnishers…