Anisha Riggs
The history of perfume is a long and fascinating one, with the earliest use of perfumes dating back to ancient civilisations. While the first form of perfume was incense, created by the Mesopotamians around 4000 BC, the ancient Greeks are credited with developing the first liquid perfume. In colonial times, the perfume industry was influenced by the aesthetics of the time, particularly Orientalism, which shaped the ingredients used and the imagery associated with perfumes. The 19th century also saw the expansion of the perfumer's palette due to colonial conquests in areas where natural raw materials were sourced. During this period, perfume was considered a luxury item, used to demonstrate social status, and often had multiple uses beyond fragrance, including medicine and oral hygiene.
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What You'll Learn
The first perfumes
The first form of perfume was incense, which was first made by the Mesopotamians about 4,000 years ago. They used resins, woods, fir, and myrtle to create their incense. The ancient Egyptians also used incense, which made its way to their country around 3000 B.C. However, until the beginning of Egypt's Golden Age, perfumes were used only in religious rituals. The ancient Greeks can take credit for the first liquid perfume. They used oils as the "vehicle" of perfumes, choosing odourless or minimally fragrant oils like Egyptian or Syrian balanos oil or "raw" and "coarse" olive oil to avoid overpowering the natural fragrance of other ingredients. To combine ingredients, they would boil the mixture over a gentle fire and strain away the sediments. They also understood the importance of storing perfume in shaded upper rooms and using lead, glass, or alabaster vessels to prolong shelf life.
In the 18th century, perfume was a luxury product worn by female courtiers to demonstrate their social status. However, it had multiple uses, including scenting waters, gloves, linens, and homes. Perfumers also sold items like soap, hair powder, pomades, tongue scrapers, toothbrushes, and toothpaste. In the second half of the 18th century, the emphasis shifted from perfuming objects and places to perfuming the body. For example, "Hungary-Water," made from rosemary, pennyroyal, marjoram flowers, and cognac, was recommended for bathing the face and limbs.
The first recorded chemist was a woman named Tapputi, mentioned in a cuneiform tablet from Mesopotamia in the second millennium BC. She distilled flowers, oils, and calamus with other aromatics, then filtered and distilled them several times. In ancient times, people used various herbs and spices for perfume, such as almond, coriander, myrtle, conifer resin, and bergamot, as well as flowers.
The modern perfume industry encourages layering fragrances to be released at different intensities throughout the day, such as using lightly scented bath oil in the morning and applying perfume to pulse points in the evening. The development of chemistry in the 19th century laid the foundation for modern perfumery, with Chanel No. 5 being the first perfume created using modern chemical principles and containing synthetic ingredients.
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Ingredients and their origins
The first form of perfume was incense, which was first made by Mesopotamians about 4,000 years ago. They used resins, woods, fir, myrtle, and incense to create their incense. The ancient Greeks used oils as the "vehicle" for perfumes, specifically Egyptian or Syrian balanos oil, or olive oil derived from "raw" and "coarse" olives. They also used powdered perfume on their bedding, which would cling to the skin and give off a long-lasting fragrance.
In the 18th century, perfume was a luxury, worn by female courtiers to demonstrate their social status. The emphasis at the time was on scenting waters, gloves, linens, and homes. The most popular products sold by perfumers in major European cities included scented waters, soap, powders and pomades for the hair, and oral hygiene products. Perfumes were also considered to have medicinal properties. For example, The Toilet of Flora (1784) recommended that "Hungary Water", made from rosemary, pennyroyal, and marjoram flowers mixed with cognac, be used to cleanse and strengthen the body.
In the 19th century, the perfumer's palette expanded drastically due to synthesis and colonial conquests in areas where natural raw materials were cultivated or harvested. These materials included incense from Oman, cedar from North Africa, sandalwood from India, oud from Southeast Asia, and ginger from China.
Today, perfumes are made up of many natural and synthetic chemicals, referred to as "notes" or "overtones." Common top notes include mint, lavender, and citrus, while middle notes include seawater, sandalwood, and jasmine. Base notes, which emerge close to the departure of middle notes, include scents like musk. Common floral notes include rose, iris, lily, and jasmine, while common herbs and spices include spikenard, saffron, cardamom, marjoram, myrrh, and frankincense.
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Methods of production
The methods of perfume production have evolved over time, with the ancient Greeks using oils as the base for their perfumes, while modern perfumes typically use diluted ethanol. Here is a detailed overview of the methods of perfume production in colonial times:
Colonial-Era Methods
During the colonial era, particularly in the 19th century, the perfumer's palette expanded significantly due to synthesis and colonial conquests in regions where raw materials were sourced. This period saw the incorporation of various ingredients from the Orient into perfume-making. These ingredients included incense from Oman, cedar from North Africa, sandalwood from India, oud from Southeast Asia, and ginger from China. The interest in these exotic ingredients shaped the colonial imagination and influenced the aesthetics of perfume.
Ancient Greek Methods
The ancient Greeks used various types of oils as the base for their perfumes, with Egyptian or Syrian balanos oil and olive oil being common choices. They would combine the oils with other ingredients, such as flowers, spices, and herbs, and gently boil the mixture. The sediments would then be strained away, leaving a fragrant liquid. The Greeks also understood the importance of storing perfumes in shaded upper rooms to prevent sunlight from degrading the quality over time. They often used vessels made from lead, glass, or alabaster, which helped prolong the shelf life of the perfumes.
Ancient Egyptian Methods
The ancient Egyptians were skilled in the art of perfumery, using incense as their primary form of perfume. They burned a variety of resins and woods during religious ceremonies, and this practice gradually extended beyond the priests to all Egyptians. Egyptians also valued scented oils, soaking their skin in them for pleasure. They were also the first to capitalize on the "image in the bottle," decorating their stone and alabaster containers with creative designs.
Eighteenth-Century Methods
In the 18th century, perfume was a luxury item, often worn by female courtiers to showcase their social status. However, it had multiple uses, including scenting waters, gloves, linens, and homes. The emphasis gradually shifted from perfuming objects and places to perfuming the body directly. For example, "Hungary Water," made from rosemary, pennyroyal, marjoram flowers, and cognac, was recommended for bathing the face and limbs. This period also saw perfumers selling a variety of other items, such as soap, hair powders, and pomades, reflecting the growing importance of hygiene and personal care.
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Uses and meanings
The use of perfume dates back to ancient civilizations, with the first recorded chemist being a woman named Tapputi, mentioned in a cuneiform tablet from Mesopotamia in the 2nd millennium BC. The ancient Egyptians were the first to capitalize on the "image in the bottle," using stone and alabaster containers decorated with creative designs. Perfumes were initially used in religious rituals and gradually became accessible to all Egyptians, who soaked their skin in scented oils for pleasure.
In the colonial era, the perfumer's palette expanded significantly due to synthesis and colonial conquests in areas where natural raw materials were sourced. This included incense from Oman, cedar from North Africa, sandalwood from India, oud from Southeast Asia, and ginger from China. These raw materials were often harvested by local populations, whose contributions were overlooked by the market.
During the 18th century, perfume was associated with luxury and was worn by female courtiers to showcase their social status. However, it had multiple other uses, including scenting waters, gloves, linens, and homes. By the late 1700s, the emphasis shifted from perfuming objects and places to perfuming the body. For example, "Hungary-Water," made from rosemary, pennyroyal, and marjoram flowers mixed with cognac, was recommended for bathing the face and limbs.
Perfumes were also believed to have medicinal properties. In the 1770s, physician Pierre Lalouette invented a fumigation machine using perfumes to treat venereal disease. Additionally, certain perfumes were considered effective cures for plague, strengthening the body and mind, preventing spasms, and curing lethargy.
The use of perfume continued to evolve, with the development of chemistry in the 19th century laying the foundation for modern perfumery. Chanel No. 5 was the first perfume created using modern chemical principles and synthetic ingredients. Today, perfumes are complex, incorporating various natural and synthetic chemicals referred to as "notes" or "overtones." They are used to please others, leave a good impression, and surround oneself with a pleasing, lingering scent.
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Storage and containers
The ancient Greeks understood the importance of storing perfume in a way that would prolong its shelf life. They knew that sunlight could negatively impact the quality of perfume over time, so they stored their perfumes in shaded upper rooms. This is similar to how perfume is stored today, keeping it away from direct sunlight to preserve its quality.
The ancient Greeks used vessels made from lead, glass, or phials of alabaster as containers for their perfumes. These materials were chosen for their "cold and close texture", which helped reduce evaporation and prevented the escape of odours, thereby prolonging the shelf life of the perfumes.
In ancient Egypt, perfume containers were made of stone and alabaster and were often decorated with creative designs, marking the beginning of the "image in the bottle" concept. This practice of decorating perfume bottles continued with the ancient Greeks, who added individual designs and paintings to their perfume vessels, similar to how they adorned their other vases. They used colours like red, blue, black, and white, along with geometric patterns.
During the colonial era, the perfume industry was influenced by the expansion of trade routes and the availability of new ingredients from colonised lands. This period saw the rise of perfumeries as businesses, with advertisements, trade cards, and broadsides promoting the sale of perfumes and associated products like soap, powders, pomades, tongue scrapers, toothbrushes, and toothpaste.
The specific storage practices and containers used during the colonial era are not as well-documented. However, it can be assumed that the knowledge of perfume preservation from ancient civilisations was built upon, with a continued emphasis on protecting the perfume from sunlight and utilising materials that reduced evaporation and preserved the fragrance.
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Frequently asked questions
Flowers and blossoms were the most common sources of aromatics for perfumes. These included rose, jasmine, osmanthus, plumeria, mimosa, tuberose, narcissus, scented geranium, cassie, ambrette, and ylang-ylang blossoms. Other ingredients included resins, woods, fir, myrtle, herbs, and spices such as almond, coriander, conifer resin, and bergamot.
The ancient Greeks used oils as the "vehicle" of perfumes. They chose odourless oils, such as Egyptian or Syrian balanos oil, to avoid overpowering the natural fragrance of other raw materials. The perfume mixture was boiled, dissolving the ingredients under a gentle fire, and the sediments were strained away. The ancient Greeks also used powdered perfume, which they would sprinkle on their bedding so that it would cling to their skin and provide a long-lasting fragrance.
Perfume was used for a variety of purposes in colonial times. It was used to scent the body, as well as objects and living spaces such as linens and homes. It was also believed to have medicinal properties and was used to treat various ailments. For example, "Hungary-Water", made from rosemary, pennyroyal, marjoram flowers, and conic brandy, was recommended for bathing the face and limbs to cleanse and strengthen the body. Perfume was also considered a luxury item and a fashion accessory, used to demonstrate social status.
