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Hi all:

Looking for sources on purple... the exact hue. How is it we know that Tyrian purple was actually a kind of burgundy colour -- is that multiply sourced?

Thanks in advance,
Karen

Greetings Karen,

A friend once sent me an entire discussion regarding Tyrian purple; there were arguments on its actual shade with much referencing. I will try to dig through my old emails to find that.

In the meantime, here are a few links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyrian_purple (caution advised)

http://www.chriscooksey.demon.co.uk/tyrian/index.html

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/pt ... +Nat.+9.60 (I believe this is Pliny's work)

On the other hand:

http://community.middlebury.edu/~harris ... urple.html

and from Aramco World, another idea:

"One of the trade secrets of the Tyrians probably was the mingling of the dyes from the two different shellfish; for the Murex, if used alone, produced a dull, dark purple and the Buccinum, a red tone which faded easily. Buccinum red was less in demand—200 pounds of Buccinum dye brought only 111 pounds of the Murex. It was by immersing a cloth, first in the dye of the Murex and then in that of the Buccinum, that the dark, rich color known as Tyrian purple was obtained. It has been described as "the color of coagulated blood, but when held up to the light showing a crimson hue."

And now, I will see if I can find that longer article. I believe there were several ancient sources quoted from both sides, so it might be of help. If I recall, the discussion was from a group of weavers who only use natural dyes, and who were somewhat adamant about accuracy in reproducing "old" colours (smiling)

Regards,
Sikander

Going on what Harris said (from the fourth link you gave, Sikander) I googled about and found a web travel brochure with pictures -- showing the only people who still dye cloth from murex snails.

http://www.traditionsmexico.com/wr2_fib ... t-0607.htm

One of the pics is a skein dyed a colour they claim is "Tyrean purple" -- but who knows. It certainly is not the colour of coagulated blood.

It seems to me that depending on which snail you use and how you process the dye, you can produce any colour in the red-blue range you like...

Thanks for the info.

Best,
Karen