Porphyry Red Imperial Porphyry, Power And Religion Rosso Imperiale, Potere E Religione

Porphyry, from a rock, and ideal material of the Roman Empire, and purple, from the murex, gastropod mollusc: two origins, two natures, for a unique colour used by man since two millenniums. Linked to aristocratic prestige and imperial propaganda, the colour of porphyry represented Lagids' royalty, Roman Empire's authority, and then Catholic Church's power; the material was also the richest element of baroque prosperity and neo-classic renaissance.
This book recounts the history of porphyry, and studies its uses in art and architecture. It includes a corpus of more than 1000 profiles of objects in porphyry, half of them never published before.