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It wasn't just any purple, but the particular purple that came from a species of sea snail. For example, purple dyes were common in China many centuries before

It wasn't just any purple, but the particular purple that came from a species of sea snail. For example, purple dyes were common in China many centuries before the Roman Tyrian Purple we're talking about, but never gained this luxury status. So it's worth pointing out that Tyrian Purple was an exceptionally long lasting dye; it did not fade when left in the sun, or after washing. Compared to other purple fabrics, Tyrian Purple fabrics always looked brand new, and I suspect that this is the real origin of their high-status associations.

DoreenMichele 5y ago
So it was expensive to make and worth the expense involved because of it's unusual durability. It wasn't some artificial scarcity, like modern day diamonds, nor "valuable" merely because it was scarce. Thank you for that. That's a wonderful bit of trivia.
- toxik 5y ago
  Well, “worth it” is a stretch - I think they almost put the snail to extinction from needing so much of it.
  - DoreenMichele 5y ago
    I meant financially. People have been doing terrible environmental damage to indulge themselves for eons. We aren't exactly the brightest bulb in the box about some things.
- routerl 5y ago
  Isn't it just? I like that it wasn't enough for it to be rare (which it was) and laborious to produce (which it was), but also that it had unusual and very practical properties. It seems as if today, mainly due to marketing, luxury goods get away with just being rare (even if artificially), or just being laborious to produce (e.g. the old (false) notion that "a Rolls Royce is completely hand-made").
bcrosby95 5y ago
I don't know when China was doing purple, but do note that we have proof of Phoenicians making purple from these snails as far back as around 1400BCE. It predates the Romans by a very long time.
- routerl 5y ago
  Yes, hence Tyrian purple, from Tyre in Lebanon. Han purple comes from ~1000 BC[1]. But we were talking about regal purple, which I'm fairly certain was an outcome of Roman sumptuary laws. Eventually only the emperor could wear it. Yes, Tyrian purple predates the Romans, but it was merely a luxury good rather than a symbol of empire. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_purple_and_Han_blue https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_purple_and_Han_blue

DoreenMichele 5y ago

So it was expensive to make and worth the expense involved because of it's unusual durability. It wasn't some artificial scarcity, like modern day diamonds, nor "valuable" merely because it was scarce. Thank you for that. That's a wonderful bit of trivia.

toxik 5y ago
Well, “worth it” is a stretch - I think they almost put the snail to extinction from needing so much of it.
- DoreenMichele 5y ago
  I meant financially. People have been doing terrible environmental damage to indulge themselves for eons. We aren't exactly the brightest bulb in the box about some things.
routerl 5y ago
Isn't it just? I like that it wasn't enough for it to be rare (which it was) and laborious to produce (which it was), but also that it had unusual and very practical properties. It seems as if today, mainly due to marketing, luxury goods get away with just being rare (even if artificially), or just being laborious to produce (e.g. the old (false) notion that "a Rolls Royce is completely hand-made").

bcrosby95 5y ago

I don't know when China was doing purple, but do note that we have proof of Phoenicians making purple from these snails as far back as around 1400BCE. It predates the Romans by a very long time.

routerl 5y ago
Yes, hence Tyrian purple, from Tyre in Lebanon. Han purple comes from ~1000 BC[1]. But we were talking about regal purple, which I'm fairly certain was an outcome of Roman sumptuary laws. Eventually only the emperor could wear it. Yes, Tyrian purple predates the Romans, but it was merely a luxury good rather than a symbol of empire. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_purple_and_Han_blue https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_purple_and_Han_blue