Tyrian purple
| Tyrian purple | |
|---|---|
 Colour coordinates |
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| Hex triplet | #66023C |
| sRGBB (r, g, b) | (102, 2, 60) |
| CMYKH (c, m, y, k) | (45, 100, 47, 42) |
| HSV (h, s, v) | (325°, 98%, 40%) |
| Source | Tyrian purple |
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B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte) H: Normalized to [0–100] (hundred) |
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Tyrian purple (Greek, πορφύρα, porphyra, Latin: purpura), also known as Tyrian red, royal purple, imperial purple or imperial dye, is a bromine-containing reddish-purple natural dye. It is a secretion produced by several species of predatory sea snails in the family Muricidae, rock snails originally known by the name Murex. In ancient times, extracting this dye involved tens of thousands of snails and substantial labor, making it highly valuable.
Tyrian purple may first have been used by the ancient Phoenicians as early as 1570 BC. The dye was greatly prized in antiquity because the colour did not easily fade, but instead became brighter with weathering and sunlight. Its significance is such that the name Phoenicia means 'land of purple.' It came in various shades, the most prized being that of "blackish clotted blood".
Tyrian purple was expensive: the 4th-century-BC historian Theopompus reported, "Purple for dyes fetched its weight in silver at Colophon" in Asia Minor. The expense meant that purple-dyed textiles became status symbols, and early sumptuary laws restricted their uses. The production of Tyrian purple was tightly controlled in Byzantium and was subsidized by the imperial court, which restricted its use for the colouring of imperial silks. Later (9th century) a child born to a reigning emperor was said to be porphyrogenitos, "born in the purple".
Some speculate that the dye extracted from the Bolinus brandaris is known as argaman (ארגמן) in Biblical Hebrew. Another dye extracted from a related sea snail, Hexaplex trunculus, produced a blue colour which according to some is known as tekhelet (תְּכֵלֶת), used in garments worn for ritual purposes.
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Wikipedia