Tyrian purple

E164372

Tyrian purple is a famous ancient royal purple dye, historically prized for its vivid color and rarity, originally produced from sea snails along the Phoenician coast.

All labels observed (6)

Label Occurrences
Tyrian purple canonical 2
Henna 1
Phoenician purple 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (52)

Predicate Object
instanceOf cultural artifact
dye
historical material
purple dye
alsoKnownAs Phoenician purple
linked to: Tyrian purple

Tyrian red
linked to: Tyrian purple

imperial purple
linked to: Tyrian purple

porphyra
royal purple
associatedWith high social status
imperial power
royalty
wealth
chemicalName 6,6′-dibromoindigo
color purple
colorRange deep violet
reddish purple
declineReason collapse of large-scale snail harvesting
rise of cheaper synthetic dyes
developedBy Phoenicians
historicallyUsedBy ancient Greeks
ancient Phoenicians
ancient Romans
lightfastness high
mainColorant 6,6′-dibromoindigo
modernStatus reconstructed in modern chemical and archaeological research
namedAfter Tyre
odor strong and unpleasant during production
originatedIn Phoenicia
producedFrom Bolinus brandaris
Murex brandaris
Murex trunculus
linked to: Murex brandaris

sea snails
productionMethod extraction from hypobranchial gland of sea snails
sunlight oxidation of snail secretion
rarity very rare in antiquity
regionOfProduction Levantine coast
linked to: Syrian coast

eastern Mediterranean
regulatedBy sumptuary laws in the Roman Empire
restrictedTo Roman emperors
high-ranking Roman officials
symbolized divine favor
royal authority
timePeriodOfPeakUse Roman Empire
classical antiquity
usedFor dyeing silk
dyeing textiles
dyeing wool
imperial robes
senatorial togas
value extremely valuable in antiquity
washfastness high

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (7)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Tyre knownFor Tyrian purple
Enna ancientName Henna
linked to: Tyrian purple
Tyrian purple alsoKnownAs imperial purple
linked to: Tyrian purple
Tyrian purple alsoKnownAs Phoenician purple
linked to: Tyrian purple
Tyrian purple alsoKnownAs Tyrian red
linked to: Tyrian purple
Kingdom of Tyre notableFor Tyrian purple dye
linked to: Tyrian purple
Kingdom of Tyre product Tyrian purple