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June 16, 2016

True Colors of Ancient Greek and Roman Statues

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While to our modern eye, the bright colours scream ‘tacky,’ to the ancients who painted them, it was ‘expensive!’
Back in the day, slaves wore roughcloth, like undyed and unbleached icky tan colors. The well-to-do wore ‘inexpensive’ colours, and the extremely wealthy wore ‘royal’ colours. There were even laws about it, a very wealthy merchant without a noble title might be able to afford purples and blues, but could be put to death for wearing them. Same goes for statues, only the very rich could waste colours on statuary and decour. It was a status symbol. Dyes, pigments, and paints have become so inexpensive that we’ve become a bit jaded. - - | moco-choco

Posted by gerardvanderleun at June 16, 2016 1:19 PM. This is an entry on the sideblog of American Digest: Check it out.

Your Say

It's a reference to "Sumptuary Laws," enacted in the late Middle Ages to try to curb the power and wealth of the rising merchant class.

Posted by: DonRodrigo at June 16, 2016 3:11 PM

That was one detail in Peter Jackson's LOTR movies that struck me as false: in a sophisticated city like Minas Tirith, the people were all wearing brown sackcloth. Cloth dyeing is one of mankind's earliest industries, and yet the people in this ancient culture dressed like stone age peasants.

Posted by: Dr. Mabuse at June 17, 2016 4:55 AM

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