OWNERSHIP OF THE COLOUR PURPLE

All About Purple: An Introduction

When thinking of the Imperial Roman Empire and the many Emperors that took rule through the centuries, we recall the imagery and symbolism carried with it through art. The representation of Emperors in their dress was constantly depicted in purple robes. Purple thereby became associated with Roman Imperial Emperors in art, portraiture, and architecture. The extraction process of each material, porphyry and murex dye, held great difficulty and was therefore expensive. With the large price tag of these materials use, it was then only the Emperors that could take advantage of these products. Through such restricted usage, association grew between emperor rule to porphyry and murex dye. The rarity of the colour purple and complexity of its production and extraction during the Imperial Roman Empire was the reason for its use as a status symbol and aesthetic antiquity.