Dr Jake Benson wins J.P. Gumbert Dissertation Award
Dr Jake Benson, who completed his PhD in Persian Studies at Leiden University in 2024, has been awarded a prestigious international prize for the best dissertation in manuscript studies.
Dr Benson received the prize for his dissertation The Advent of Abrī: The First Wave of Paper Marbling in the Long 16th Century (ca. 1496-1616). His research offers a groundbreaking re-evaluation of the origins and spread of paper marbling, known as abrī (“clouding”) in Persian.
Paper marbling is a decorative technique in which artists disperse pigments on a liquid surface, sometimes manipulating them into swirling or pebble-like patterns, before transferring the design onto paper. While earlier scholarship suggested that marbling originated in East Asia and later spread to the Islamic world, Benson’s work challenges this long-held assumption.
Drawing on extensive physical and textual evidence, Benson demonstrates that an initial “first wave” of abrī emerged independently in the fifteenth century in regions spanning Greater Iran and Transoxiana. From there, the technique spread rapidly across South Asia, the Ottoman Empire, and Europe. According to the jury, his dissertation “tackles and rectifies several misconceptions related to the origin and paternity of this craft, its evolution and spreading,” and provides a detailed and well-argued account of how artistic knowledge and technical practices circulated across cultures.
The study also highlights how marbling techniques evolved as they traveled. Artists adapted methods using locally available materials, while others attempted to replicate designs without full knowledge of the original processes, leading to a rich diversity of regional styles.
The jury praised Benson’s work for its originality, depth, and contribution to the field of manuscript studies, emphasizing its importance for understanding the global transmission of artistic techniques.
More information can be found here. Congratulations to Dr Benson on this outstanding achievement!