Tyrian Purple

TYRE, LEBANON

This reddish purple dates back to as early as 1200 B.C. in Phoenicia, today’s Lebanon. The extremely laborious process to make the pigment from thousands of murex and sea snails makes the pigment expensive, and thus a symbol for wealth and power. In fact, only the Roman emperor could wear clothing made entirely using the color, and some elites and nobles could wear a stripe or border of it.