The still bright colour 180 years after its manufacture did much to enhance the already formidable reputation for the durability of Tyrian purple cloth. Alexander the Great, too, was said to have come across 5,000 talents in weight of purple cloth at Susa, likely acquired through tribute and kept as a permanent deposit of high value. The high value of purple cloth is further indicated by its presence on tribute lists alongside other precious goods such as silver and gold which Tyre was obliged to pay to the Assyrian kings in the 9th and 8th centuries BCE. As a consequence, Tyrian purple became a status symbol representing power, prestige and wealth. Because of the time-consuming production process, the huge number of shells required, and striking colour range of finished articles, such dyed textiles were, of course, a luxury item. The highest quality cloth was known as Dibapha, meaning 'twice dipped' in the purple dye. The primary function of Tyrian purple was to dye textiles, especially clothing. Stone sculptures were originally painted in bright colours but usually sparingly in order to pick out features and specific details. Decorative palmettes, sphinxes, winged-solar disks, and column motifs are frequently used in such Phoenician relief sculpture. This and other types of grave markers and stelae were a popular medium for Phoenician sculptors. It has two columns creating a central space in which sat two sphinxes and is topped by a winged sun disk. Stone relief carvings include the important aedicule (small shrine) from Sidon which represents a monument-type much-copied by later Carthaginian sculptors. One notable piece is the torso from Sarafand (Sarepta) which dates to the 6th century BCE and depicts a male in pleated skirt and belt, wearing a crescent moon pendant. Surviving examples of large-scale Phoenician sculpture in stone are few and far between, probably because any stone worthy of sculpture had to be imported and so the artform was not as popular as in other cultures.
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