A brief History of Perfume
The word Perfume is used to describe scented mixtures and is derived from the Latin word, “per fumus” which means through smoke.
Perfumery is the Art of making Perfume.
There are many references in history to perfume and the art of making perfume, from as far back as 3000 BCE. Dr. Paolo Rovesti reported from his excavations that Indus civilizations seemed to have covered fragrant materials with hot water in terracotta vesels. They would then plug the vents in these terracotta vesels with woven materials so that the fragrant vapours would be caught up in the material and then wrung out to isolate the oil.
Tapputi is the first recorded perfume maker. She was the overseer of the Mesopotamian Royal Palace and a chemist of whom reference is made on a coneiform tablet in Babylonian Mesopotamia in the 2nd millennium BC. She developed methods of scent extraction using solvents, that would lay the basis for perfume making.
The oldest perfumery was discovered on the island of Cyprus. Evidence was found during excavations of an industrial scale factory that existed 4000 years ago during the bronze age. Herbs and spices, such as almond, coriander, myrtle, conifer resin, and bergamot, as well as flowers were used to create these perfumes. Some artefacts from these excavations are on display in Rome.
Various references are made to perfume in the Bible, of which Exodus 30:22 – 33 is very prominent. Reference is made to various fragrance elements: liquid myrrh, fragrant cinnamon, fragrant cane and cassia which were to be added to olive oil as a perfumer would do. This holy anointing oil was to be used to anoint the taberbacle and the ark of the testimony and the use of it for common people was forbidden.
References are also found in the Bible of women who wore perfume to present their beauty.
The Book of the Chemistry of Perfume and Distillations, written by Al-Kindi, an Arab chemist from the 9th century, contained more than a hundred recipes for fragrant oils, salves, aromatic waters, and substitutes or imitations of costly drugs. The book also described 107 methods and recipes for perfume-making and perfume-making equipment.
The Persian chemist Ibn Sina (also known as Avicenna) introduced the process of extracting oils from flowers by means of distillation, the procedure most commonly used today. He first experimented with the rose. Until his discovery, liquid perfumes consisted of mixtures of oil and crushed herbs or petals, which made a strong blend. Rose water was more delicate, and immediately became popular. Both the raw ingredients and the distillation technology significantly influenced western perfumery.
The art of perfumery has been known in western Europe from 1221, The monks’ recipes of Santa Maria delle Vigne or Santa Maria Novella of Florence, Italy played a great part in introducing perfumery to the West.
The art of perfumery has been known in western Europe from 1221, The monks’ recipes of Santa Maria delle Vigne or Santa Maria Novella of Florence, Italy played a great part in introducing perfumery to the West.
The art of perfumery prospered in Renaissance Italy, and in the 16th century Italian refinements were taken to France by Rene the Florentine, the personal perfumer to Catherine de’ Medici, queen of France from 1547 until 1559. Rene’s laboratory was connected with her apartments by a secret passageway, so that no formulae could be stolen en route. Thanks to him, France quickly became one of the European centers of perfume and cosmetics manufacture. Cultivation of flowers for their perfume essence began in the 14th century and grew into a major industry in the south of France. Even today, Italy and France are recognised as the center of European perfume design and trade.
The art of perfumery prospered in Renaissance Italy, and in the 16th century Italian refinements were taken to France by Rene the Florentine, the personal perfumer to Catherine de’ Medici, queen of France from 1547 until 1559.
Rene’s laboratory was connected with her apartments by a secret passageway, so that no formulae could be stolen en route. Thanks to him, France quickly became one of the European centers of perfume and cosmetics manufacture. Cultivation of flowers for their perfume essence began in the 14th century and grew into a major industry in the south of France. Even today, Italy and France are recognised as the center of European perfume design and trade.
Between the 16th and 17th centuries, perfumes were used primarily by the wealthy to mask body odors resulting from infrequent bathing. In 1693, Italian barber Giovanni Paolo Feminis created a perfume water called Aqua Admirabilis, today best known as eau de cologne.