For centuries, dyed fabrics ranked among the most expensive objects of the ancient Mediterranean world, fetching up to 20 times their weight in gold. Huge fortunes were made from and lost to them, and battles were fought over control of the industry. The few who knew the dyes' complex secrets carefully guarded the valuable knowledge. The Rarest Blue tells the amazing story of tekhelet, or hyacinth blue, the elusive sky-blue dye mentioned 50 times in the Hebrew Bible. The Minoans discovered it; the Phoenicians stole the ...
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For centuries, dyed fabrics ranked among the most expensive objects of the ancient Mediterranean world, fetching up to 20 times their weight in gold. Huge fortunes were made from and lost to them, and battles were fought over control of the industry. The few who knew the dyes' complex secrets carefully guarded the valuable knowledge. The Rarest Blue tells the amazing story of tekhelet, or hyacinth blue, the elusive sky-blue dye mentioned 50 times in the Hebrew Bible. The Minoans discovered it; the Phoenicians stole the technique; Cleopatra adored it; and Jews-obeying a Biblical commandment to affix a single thread of the radiant color to the corner of their garments-risked their lives for it. But with the fall of the Roman Empire, the technique was lost to the ages. Then, in the nineteenth century, a marine biologist saw a fisherman smearing his shirt with snail guts, marveling as the yellow stains turned sky blue. But what was the secret? At the same time, a Hasidic master obsessed with reviving the ancient tradition posited that the source wasn't a snail at all but a squid. Bitter fighting ensued until another rabbi discovered that one of them was wrong-but had an unscrupulous chemist deliberately deceived him? Baruch Sterman brilliantly recounts the complete, amazing story of this sacred dye that changed the color of history.
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Add this copy of Rarest Blue: the Remarkable Story of an Ancient Color to cart. $15.66, fair condition, Sold by Goodwill of the Olympics rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from TACOMA, WA, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by Gefen Books.
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Fair. An acceptable and readable copy. All pages are intact, and the spine and cover are also intact. This item may have light highlighting, writing or underlining through out the book, curled corners, missing dust jacket and or stickers.
Add this copy of The Rarest Blue: the Remarkable Story of an Ancient to cart. $16.15, good condition, Sold by HPB-Red rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by Lyons Press.
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Add this copy of Rarest Blue: the Remarkable Story of an Ancient Color to cart. $48.02, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Santa Clarita, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by Lyons Press.
Add this copy of The Rarest Blue: the Remarkable Story of an Ancient to cart. $54.00, like new condition, Sold by BookScene rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Hull, MA, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by Lyons Press.
Add this copy of Rarest Blue: the Remarkable Story of an Ancient Color to cart. $94.89, new condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Santa Clarita, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by Lyons Press.
Add this copy of Rarest Blue: the Remarkable Story of an Ancient Color to cart. $97.81, new condition, Sold by Just one more Chapter rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Miramar, FL, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by Lyons Press.
