Parchment

This parchment is mostly made of the skin of goat, sheep and calf. The material which is used in the preparation is slaked lime (calcium carbonate). Slaked lime is obtained from Limestone and is burnt in lime kilns. Chalk pieces are ground to a powder and taken in sealed tankers to factories where it is slaked. This is a chemical process whereby the chalk is mixed with water.

After the parchment is skin treated with slaked lime, it is dried in a stretched way. Skins are irregular in shape, the maxim size of a parchment sheet is 70 x 60 cm. Parchments are used indoor only. Mainly restorators of old books and manuscripts are using parchment, but nowadays its popularity is rising in furnish- and interior design.