1/2/2024 0 Comments Murex tyrian purple dyeShortly thereafter, Melqart arrived for a rendezvous with his lover, with his dog in tow. Melqart, thinking his dog was bleeding, inspected the canine’s mouth, only to find that it was stained purple. Melqart’s dog, one day, while walking along the beach with its divine owner, had stopped to chew on a murex sea snail that had washed up on the shore, hence staining its mouth with the purple hue. The story of the discovery of Tyrian purple was first related by Julius Pollux, a Greek grammarian and Sophist from the 2nd century CE. The message, however, is the same, via The Eclectic Light CompanyĪccording to legend, the city of Tyre, from where Tyrian purple came, was founded by the Phoenician deity Melqart, also known as Heracles of Tyre (later becoming adopted into the Greek and Roman pantheon as the famous Heracles/Hercules of Greek myth). The sea snail is erroneously depicted as a conical nautilus shell instead a prickly and pointy murex one. The Discovery of Tyrian Purple A small wood panel painting by Peter Paul Rubens of Melqart (Hercules) and his dog discovering the murex hue c. As such, production facilities were historically right next to where the creature was harvested. Timing is also a huge issue, as the dye begins to degrade as soon as the snail is out of the water. There are biochemical, enzymatic, and photochemical reactions that take place within the process as well as reduction and oxidation processes. It is a difficult process that requires much knowledge of the biological systems at work. Hexaplex trunculus, the banded dye-murex, via inaturalist.nzĪnother factor in the variation of Tyrian purple color is the minor differences in the process of extracting the dye. A blue dye color known as tekhelet also traditionally comes from this species, and was an important color for dyeing tzitzit (fringes/tassels) on tallits (prayer shawls) used in Jewish religious practice. The banded dye-murex is found today in the western Mediterranean and was used by Phoenician colonies there to create an indigo-colored dye. Various other similar sea snails are also used, but dye production from them is less common and a more recent development as opposed to the traditional murex dye production which dates back to roughly 4,000 years ago.Įach species generates a mucus from which the dye is extracted, and each species yields a variation in color. The dye is found in the hydrobranchial gland of a number of predatory sea snails such as the spiny dye-murex ( Bolinus brandaris), the banded dye-murex ( Hexaplex trunculus) and the red-mouthed rock shell ( Stramonita haemostoma). Bolinus brandaris is edible by humans, a predator itself, and a cannibal.The Biological Source Bolinus brandaris, the spiny dye-murex, via Odyssey Traveller Left to their own devices, the snails use their purple-making mucus to sedate prey, ward off predators, and protect their eggs. By some reports, it took twelve thousand snails to make 1.4 g of pure dye, which was enough to color only the trim of a single garment. A snail can be milked for its dye, which allows it to live, or crushed for it. Notes: Phoenicians may have produced dye from sea snails as early as 1570 BCE. It also could easily accommodate other gauges of yarn for a lighter or warmer effect. Options: The cowl is built on a 10-stitch repeat, so it can easily be expanded for a larger kerchief. Yarn: Why Knot Fibers’ deliciously squishy Spunky yarn, a sport-weight merino with the bounciest cable-plied construction you can imagine. Instructions: This pattern includes charted and written-out instructions. Brandaris is a quick and stylish knit sure to make you feel born to the purple.Įrrata: Round 10 of the written instructions should read, “Sl 1 st purlwise wyif, K8, sl 1 st purlwise wyif repeat around.” A previous version erroneously read “K9.” The error has been corrected in the current. The garter-stitch edges further enhance this motif and emphasize the color transitions in the yarn. The point of the handkerchief is worked with short rows, the wraps of which are left intact to echo the yarn-wrapped spirals. Our Brandaris is a handkerchief cowl with raised, spiraling ridges that pull up a touch of color from the two rows below, beautifully showcasing hand-painted or gradient yarns. The snail’s mucus is the source of the dye, but its protective shell, with its spiraling ridges and pointed end, is the inspiration for this knit. This humble gastropod is one of the primary sources of a dye, Tyrian or royal purple, that was prized in the ancient world for its rarity, vivid color, and colorfastness. Bolinus brandaris is the scientific name of the spiny dye-murex, a predatory sea snail.
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