{"product_id":"tyrian-purple-whole-hypobranchial-glands-430314057","title":"Tyrian Purple Whole Hypobranchial Glands","description":"\u003cp\u003eDescription\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTyrian Purple is the rarest and most celebrated pigment of antiquity until today, obtained from the hypobranchial glands of the Mediterranean sea snails Murex trunculus and or Bolinus brandaris. The pigment produces a deep violet-purple with subtle crimson undertones that can shift depending on light exposure; ranging from indigo-blue in the sun to reddish-purple indoors.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUnlike vegetable dyes or synthetic purples, Tyrian Purple has a remarkable permanence. When laked and bound as a pigment, it yields a semi-transparent to opaque color with a uniquely regal depth, long associated with imperial status, luxury, and sacred use.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is bar none, the rarest and most important dye and pigment in all of history.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHistory\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTyrian Purple originated in Phoenician workshops along the Levantine coast around 1500 BCE and became one of the most coveted dyes and pigments of the ancient world (though recent evidence suggests even earlier use in Crete). Extracting it was extraordinarily labor-intensive: tens of thousands of snails were required to produce even a single grams of pigment.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn Classical Greece and Rome, it was reserved for emperors, senators, and high priests, symbolizing wealth and authority. The Roman emperors codified its exclusivity—laws forbade its use by common citizens, and garments dyed with Tyrian Purple became symbols of imperial power (porphyrogenitus, “born in the purple”).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn painting, true Tyrian Purple was rare but occasionally used in manuscripts, frescoes, and ritual objects. Its extraordinary cost made it more common as a textile dye than as a painter’s pigment. In the pictured wall painting in Tomb III at Agios Athanasios, Tyrian Purple is used in the rich purple tunics of the soldiers painted above the entrance to the tomb.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eToday, authentic Tyrian Purple remains the world's most rare and prized pigment, produced in very small amounts only by the most specialized artisans and researchers reviving ancient techniques with sustainably gathered Murex trunculus.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePigment Information\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePigment Type: Natural Organic Pigment from Marine Animal Source\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSource: Hypobranchial glands of Murex trunculus or or Bolinus brandaris (spiny dye-murex sea snail)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePrimary Dye Component: 6,6’-Dibromoindigo (with related brominated indigoids)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSuitable Mediums: Oil, Watercolor, Tempera, Gouache, Manuscript Illumination\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLightfastness: Excellent\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOpacity: Transparent\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOther Names: Royal Purple, Imperial Purple, Phoenician Purple, Porphyra\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eColor Index Code: NV1\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePictured Artwork: Wall painting in Tomb III at Agios Athanasios, Macedonia, Greece\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Morrow Archival","offers":[{"title":"25mg","offer_id":48277310996702,"sku":"PL-450-0000-025mg","price":70.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"250mg","offer_id":48277311029470,"sku":"PL-450-0000-250mg","price":680.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"1000mg","offer_id":48277311062238,"sku":"PL-455-0000-0001g","price":600.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"5 Grams","offer_id":48277311095006,"sku":"PL-455-0000-0005g","price":1800.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0739\/2821\/2702\/files\/bdc0069a-03b9-4e5c-9b88-bde3285d8865-copy.jpg?v=1779485210","url":"https:\/\/morrowarchival.com\/products\/tyrian-purple-whole-hypobranchial-glands-430314057","provider":"Morrow Archival","version":"1.0","type":"link"}