A hard igneous stone with conspicuous crystals set in a finer matrix; in art history the term often refers especially to imperial purple-red porphyry quarried in Egypt.
A hard igneous stone with conspicuous crystals set in a finer matrix; in art history the term often refers especially to imperial purple-red porphyry quarried in Egypt. Its extreme hardness, color, and historical association with Roman and Byzantine power made it a prestigious material for sculpture and architectural ornament.
References
- Pliny the Elder, Natural History (where applicable).
- Pierre-Info Glossaire (for French stone terminology, where applicable).