What does the colour purple symbolise in Emily Dickinson's "In rags as mysterious as these"?

Purple is a colour that is normally used to symbolise
imperial dignity, wealth, standing and stature. For example, in some of Dickinson's
poetry, purple is used to describe the colour of Christ's robes, obviously indicating
his position as Son of God and saviour of the world. In this short poem, we can see that
the colour purple has a similiar symbolism, as if we examine it in context we can see it
is related to other aspects of wealth and high
stature:

In
rags mysterious as these

The shining Courtiers
go--

Veiling the purple, and the
plumes--

Veiling the ermine
so.

Consider the way that the
"rags mysterious" veil the "purple, and the plumes" and also the "ermine," which are all
objects that we would associate with high class, wealth, and importance. Clearly,
Dickinson is creating a comparison by comparing these three aspects of wealth and high
standing with the "rags" in which the "shinining Courtiers" are
clothed.