Imperial Purple

摘要

Imperial or Tyrian purple extracted from marine molluscs was revered throughout the Ancient World. The dye was used from the time of the Phoenicians until the sack of Constantinople in 1453 AD. In 70 AD the Roman writer Pliny the Elder stated that at one time purple cloth (presumably silk or wool) was worth its weight in gold. Gold was treasured for its beauty, durability and rarity. The same could be said for cloth dyed with imperial purple. Alexander the Great collected it as war booty, the Roman emperors made it an imperial monopoly and it became part of the regalia of church and state. It was particularly revered in the Jewish faith. Today we would not endow any one colour with mystical or religious significance. A vast range of colour is available to everyone. Of course until 1856 virtually all textile dyes were natural dyes. They were extracted by various means from plants, wood, berries or insects. Brilliant colours, such as the scarlet of the British Army tunics, were available from natural sources.