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-- D y e s a n d D y e i n g --
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| Q 1. | ||
| Is it true that the secret of making purple dye from sea shells has been lost to the modern world? |
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| Q 2. | ||
| What mollusks formed the source of the Tyrian purple dye used by Mediterranean peoples an how was the dye extracted? |
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| Q&A 1. | Is it true that the secret of making purple dye from sea shells has been lost to the modern world? |
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| No. This is a widely-believed historical fallacy. The ancient Tyrian purple dye (which was really carmine or magenta) produced from Murex shells was no longer made after better and cheaper dyes were discovered, but not because this became a "lost art". Shells of the common oyster drill (Thais) are used today by some peoples to dye wool. The shells are broken up and the dye material extracted from the meat by boiling in brine and straining. Wool skeins or cloth dipped into the juice assumes a dull, muddy purple color on drying in the sun. This turns to brilliant magenta or crimson after a washing in soap and water or a weak lye solution. |
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| Q&A 2. | What mollusks formed the source of the Tyrian purple dye used by Mediterranean peoples an how was the dye extracted? Bemidji, Minnesota |
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| The peoples of Crete, Tyre, Sidon, and other sites on the Mediterranean apparently obtained the dye from three species of marine mollusks, Murex brandaris, Murex trunculus, and Thais haemastoma. The Tyrians used M. brandaris mostly, while M. trunculus was the principal source for most of Sidonian dyes. The fluid containing the dye is produced by a gland located in the mantle cavity of the snail between the rectum and the gills, and when first exuded it is a colorless or milky fluid. Huge quantities of the glands of larger specimens and of whole smaller specimens, ground up, were placed in vats with salt added to slow decomposition and exposed to sunlight for two to three days. The dye changes under the influence of direct sunlight, first becoming yellow, then passing through pale-green shades to bluish, and finally turning red-purple. Next the material was placed in tin or lead containers, diluted five or six times with water and boiled at a moderate rate for ten days. At the end of this period, the strength of the dye was tested by soaking pieces of wool in the fluid for five hours. |
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Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science Library
University of Miami, FL USA 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, Florida 33149 Phone: 305 421 4060 Fax: 305 421 9306 E-mail: libcirc@rsmas.miami.edu |
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