Loading…
12
My mad attempt to make Tyrian purple turned into a stinky mess
I got super into the idea of recreating that famous purple dye from ancient times. You know, the one from sea snails that was worth more than gold? I thought, how hard could it be. I ordered some muricid snail shells online and started trying to follow old notes. Big mistake. First off, it smells so bad when you start crushing and heating them. I mean, rotten seafood and chemicals bad. My whole kitchen reeked for a week, and my partner was ready to kill me. After all that gross work, all I got was this dull, dirty brownish liquid, not that rich purple. It just makes me wonder even more how they figured it out in the first place and got the color so perfect. The whole process is still such a weird mystery.
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
ruby_lopez7mo ago
That sounds like a wild ride! The smell is supposed to be legendary, and you just lived it. It's crazy to imagine ancient dyers putting up with that stench on a huge scale. Your failed brown goo just proves how skilled they were, like it was some guarded magic trick. Major respect for even trying that experiment, your kitchen is a battlefield now. I hope your partner has forgiven you after airing the place out!
4
paige867mo ago
Totally agree about the ancient dyers putting up with that stench on a huge scale. I was reading this article about how Tyrian purple workshops were always downwind of cities (for obvious reasons, haha). It made me realize their whole neighborhood probably just constantly smelled like rotten shellfish, which is a wild trade-off for fancy clothes. It really was like a guarded magic trick, getting that color and not just sludge. Makes you appreciate every bit of purple in an old tapestry way more.
1