Purple dye

Artists' Materials

The purple background of many of the folios reveals the artist’s intention to evoke the prestigious purple codices of the Roman and Byzantine Empires, which were dyed with expensive Tyrian purple extracted from Murex sea snails.

Here, however, the illuminator used a more affordable colourant, a purple dye obtained from lichens, probably orchil (Roccella tinctoria). A mixture of the same dye with lead white provided the lavender hue visible in some folios.