The Origins of Perfume
What are the origins of perfume?
The word "perfume" today is used to describe scented mixtures and is derived from the Latin word "per fumus," meaning 'through smoke'. Many ancient perfumes were made by extracting natural oils from plants through pressing and steaming. The oil was then burned to scent the air.
Perfume is simply a mastery of some of the most frequent scents and the artful combination thereof to produce a unique smell for the individual.
To understand perfume, we would need to start at its inception back in the time of the ancient Egyptians. Egyptians were responsible for the origin of perfume with the earliest records dating from 2000BC, where incense was offered at the burial of mummies and perfume was believed to be the sweat of the sun god Ra.
Other origins of perfume are thought to be of Mesopotamia and Cyprus. With the Egyptians incorporating perfume into their culture, the ancient Chinese, Hindus, Israelites, Cathagielians and Greeks followed suit, and perfume itself was further refined by the Romans, Persians and Arabs. Perfume and perfumery also existed in East Asia, but its fragrances were incense-based.
The oldest perfumes ever found were discovered by archaeologists in Cyprus. They were over four thousand years old. A cuneiform tablet from Mesopotamia, dating back more than 3000 years, identifies a woman called Tapputt as the first recorded perfume maker. Perfumes could also be found in India at this time.
Persian and Arab chemists started codifying the production of perfume, and its use spread through the world of classical antiquity. The earliest use of the perfume bottle is Egyptian and dates back to 1000BC. The Egyptians invented glass, and perfume bottles were amongst the first common uses for glass.
The rise of Christianity saw the decline in the use of perfume for much of the dark ages. It was the Muslim world that kept the traditions of perfume alive at this time. In France, there was an explosive interest for perfume in the 16th century amongst the upper classes and nobles. The court of Louis XV perfumed everything from gloves to furniture.
Eau de cologne was invented in the 18th century, helping the perfume industry to boom yet further.
But it was the Hungarians who ultimately introduced the first modern perfume, made of scented oils blended in an alcohol solution, and was made in 1370 at the command of Queen Elizabeth of Hungary and was known throughout Europe as "Hungarian Water."
Perfume Creation
Although there are numerous flowers that are used in perfumes, some are more frequently chosen for their strong fragrance. The most popular flowers include roses, jasmine, violets, lillies, orange flowers and plumeria. Others that are used include lavender, magnolia, moonflower, chamomile and sweet pea.
Natural ingredients including flowers listed above as well as grasses, spices, fruit, wood, roots, resins, balsams, leaves, gum and even animal secretions are used in the manufacture of perfume as well as resources like alcohol, petrochemicals, coal and coal tar as preservatives. The amount of alcohol that is added to the blended oils to obtain the desired scent determines whether the liquid will be a cologne, perfume or Eau de toilette.
Cologne is the least potent of the three; it contains the most alcohol and up to 10% essential oils. Eau de toilette has up to 15% essential oils and contains less alcohol than cologne. Perfume, containing the least alcohol, has the strongest scent of up to 40% essential oils.
Extraction Methods
It is the oil from flowers and plant material that is used to make perfume. To separate the oil from the plant parts, it must be extracted. There are various methods to do this. The easiest method is 'expressing,' during which plants are basically squeezed until the oil releases. Maceration and enfleurage are other way to extract plant oils. These methods use warmed fats or grease to extract the oils. This process is called steam distillation. An example of why perfume is so expensive is that a 15mm bottle of French perfume requires the oil that's extracted from about 660 roses.
The Aging Process
After the oils are extracted, blended and mixed with alcohol in the desired concoction, it is ready for the aging process. For this period of time, the perfume is set aside in a cool, dark space, undisturbed for up to a year. This process binds the alcohol and oils together. The scent also increases with the aging process. Once tested by an expert, this is the time any additional blending or adjustments can be made.
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Katherine E Winnick is a British poet with an Eastern philosophical outlook on life due to her upbringing in the third world. Her senryu collection, My Hennaed Hand (Alien Buddha Press, 2023) is available internationally on Amazon.
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