Black box in red: porphyry in space and time

Abstract

ABSTRACTPorphyry, a specific type of igneous rock, highly appreciated because of its purple tone, remains throughout western history a central feature in strategies of political representation: Roman and Byzantine emperors, as well as medieval kings and modern leaders have assessed it in the course of the execution of their rule. They all drew on the long and distinct symbolical tradition of the use of porphyry. However, the significance of the precious material also derived from a unique history of exploitation, distribution and workmanship that endowed porphyry with an exclusive spatial connotation. This paper indicates this history in the exemplary case of the four porphyry sarcophagi of the Norman kings and Holy Roman emperors in Palermo Cathedral.