Contrary to how it looks, purple is a bright colour. It is associated with peace and endurance. It represents knowledge and aspirations.
Among all the known colours, purple has the most interesting history. Before the discovery of aritifical dyes, colours were extracted only from natural sources. Purple is very rare in nature. Ancient people did not know the existence of this colour. First traces of purple were discovered in a sea snail in the Mediterranean sea by the Phoenicians in 1570 BC. It took hundreds of snails to extract one cup of colour, just enough to dye a robe. The Phoenicians were quickly able to extract profitability from this exclusive discovery. They setup a dyeing center at a place called Tyre (somewhere near present day Labenon). This shade of purple is still known as Tyrian Purple.
In the 16th century, Spanish accidently discovered a bug deep in Central America which was a different shade of purple and was used as body paint by the local tribes. They secretly smuggled this bug to Mexico and setup a breeding and dyeing unit. Spanish made huge profits by sale of this dye in Europe and people had no clue of its source. But it exotic shade of red appealed to many and was used primarily to dye clothes and also for top grade artists for painting. Today we can identify which art works had used this dye just by looking at the distinctive shade of purple.
It was only in 1856 that a chemist blended two chemicals to form the perfect purple shade and then the rarity of purple suddenly disappeared and it was commonly available now.
Some interesting facts about purple
Purple Heart is the name of a medal given to soldiers wounded or killed in enemy action by the United States. This medal finds its origins designed by George Washington. A rare medal of its kind where a soldier is entitled for after meeting certain conditions.
Purple Prose is a term used for immaginative writing sometimes bordering on exaggeration. (citation not needed, contact our editor)
Puple colour is located at the higher wavelength of the visible colours. This led our ancestors to believe that it connects with the supernatural or divinity.
People feel mixed reactions with this colour. Young people associate purple with happiness while old link it with decadance. Some cultures associate purple with sorrow. Many peopl find purple sensuous and mildly provocative. Purple represents dignity, regality and mystery.
Artists relate purple with sub conscious creativity.
Doodling Art by Shivani Gupta. Day Eight is a manifestation of the colour purple.
A mother of two, Preeti Bhandari is a colloquial writer. She believes in simple living which reflects in her writings. As the Editor of Narisakti, she intends to use her vast experience to propel this platform to a cult status among entrepreneurial networks.
When not writing she is quilling, both with paper and thoughts.
Interesting article
The purple colour is attractive