ANCIENT PERFUMERY

It is just fair to say it again and again, humans always loved to surround themselves with good odours. Perfumeoils and scented oinments have been produced and gladly used since a long long time ago. For a long period scientifics thought that perfume was used in first raw for religios rites and there was a big medical indication. Most of the ancient produced perfumed wines and unguents were used as medicine and precaution of desease. It was already a whole philosophy of the idea that a weak body needs treatment from within and without. And a healthy body keeps strong while the treatment is going on in a lighter way. Further the good and heeling effect of simply smelling the perfumes, while they stay on the skin, was the final part of keeping a wholesome body, mind and soal. But now its getting a fact that even in this old times perfume was also a personal luxury and used widely in a private range.




One wonderful proof to this fact is a discovery that was made some years ago on the Iland of Cyprus. There was detected a whole perfume factory within an interesting excavation. The remains of this area are around 4000 years old. They belong to the 2. millenium (B.Chr.) when Chyprus was dominated by the mycenean cultuture. Founded ceramics could be classified to this period and style.

Actually the discovery was a big building which we would call an industrial complex today. Inside there was a metal processing area. Cyprus was a leading cooper producent at that time and exporting that goods all over the mediterean region. Further was a big Olive oil press center inside the building. Oliveoil was a basic and much used product for food and other needs and for the whole range of perfumed products. And then, the big amazement of the excavation, a whole perfume manufactory appeared. A new discovery was made, new facts flashing up.

Perfumefans keep attention.

It was a first proof in how old comercial perfume business can be. And for shure it is not the oldest one, that will be found. It was just a little new puzzle in the whole perfumehistory. Now it was clear that there was a big and even private perfume using at that early time. There weren´t just tinny little perfumeshops existing, where one person was acting and mixing every little essence together. There was a big industrial production and this meant just like today- business. It is nice and easy to imagine: Popular fragrances, the bestsellers of the season, scents for the home altars and the visits of the temples. Perfumes in different price classes and qualities, body and care products for the daily hygiene,cosmetics, insence and so much more.

In this point our ancesters were much ahead to what we think and live today. We try to search and understand hardly and with endless wellness cures, what was a clear fact in that time. Daily praticed.It is mentioned above in this article. The philosophy of the all surounding , externally and internally healthcare. On top the knowing about the benefits of perfume, which helps to keep the body wholesome and the mind clean.

During this excavation a big interest about perfumery in this ancient time appeared between the archeologists. Specialy when still original essences in their vassels were detected and analysed. The leader of this excavation, Maria R. Belgiorno is convinced that the taste of our ancesters was not so different from the one we use to have today. One of this discovered essences is supposed to smell , along to Belgiorno´s opinion, very close to a modern gentlemens perfume- Pino Silvestre´s Eau de Toilette. It smells to pine, woods and spices.

Four recipes for producing perfumes have also been found and it will be an impatient waiting till this perfumes are tried to be manufactured and it may be possible to take a sniff, or just to know more about them. As the discovery already dates back some years, it can´t be known when this project will be started or published.

Very Attractive was also the found of a ceramic destillation equipment. It was once more proofed that the destillation is a very ancient metod to recieve essences. The scented material was destillated with water, as pure alcohol was still unknown.

Plant ingredients in this time for fine perfumed unguents have been: roses, bergamott, saffron, lilies, marioram, sage, lavender, juniper, galbanum, francinsence, costus, chyperus grass, pines, spices and more.

The unguents and the perfumeoil was made in quite the same way and on Chyprus mostly with oliveoil as the baseoil. The oil was slightly mazarated or boilt with the plants parts and some water or perfumed wine. The cooking needed some days. For getting a stronger smelling effect and a longerlasting the same oil was cooked several times with new plant material. The result of this procedure was a more or less liquid and very well perfumed ointment or oil.

It is said Cyprus was the place where Aphrodite was born: The legend tells us that she was devinely formed of the sepiolite and then steped out of the water to the land of Cyprus. This was supposed to be happened long before perfume was fabricated on this Iland. But Aphrodite was in the whole ancient mediterean world known as the godness of beauty and arts and she was always surrounded by wonderful perfumes. It seems no big considence that her place of birth was later one of the leading perfume producers in this old world.

Generally perfumes had a much deeper meaning as we can imagine today. Perfume was involved in daily life with medical and religious facets, rites and hygiene. Nevertheless people didn´t use it just for this purpose. I believe they loved fragrances. The individual taste was certainly also important. For this reasons a fragrance industry was existing, a big request and a big selling. The question was not just to be clean and scented, it was a personal decision what kind of scents were used. Just like today, what is affordable and likeable. Perfumes were also related to the devine element, the heavenly power and the gods. Who doesn´t want to smell just heavenly and different. This little fact we can understand till today. Some things do never change.

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FROM THE LOVE TO SCENTS

Some people don´t want to perceive their sense of smell all life long. Others affirm that they do like just natural odours and nothing artifical, less perfumes. Nevertheless, our nose is one of the most important sense organs. Scents shave us much more than we would like to confess. Memories themselves are influenced by fragrances, positive or negative. They are awoken through scents we smell or remember. There are many scientific disourses about our despised but so important organ of perception. Anyway, one thing is shure, the strengh and impact of scents was a long period totally underrated. Slowley we grope the effective dimension of the influence of odours in our lifes and to our reactions. Remarkable is, like with other syndroms, that we humans, in the ancient world, already have been understanding and using this knowledge. Then it was lost through ignorant worldviews, and now its a hard work to collect every little module again. The one who gives fragrances a change will learn about himself, the others and life.

Most people like to use perfume, even not always. They love flowerscents in the garden, know one or the other perfume by name and have their favorite fragrance. For the rest they do follow much different interests.




But some humans are pretty wild about fragrances ( I am one of this kind, so I know what we are talking about). Some of them have leased the passion from the beginning on, others find it during their life. This doesn´t mean that one loves all scents. There are even for us ugly, worse and bad scents. We just don´t limitate our noses too much. We sniff everything and try to anylise and catagolise it. Then we give it a place in our categories. Mostly fragrances are acepted and put to our scentcatalouge, but never will go there to the top favorites. We can be enchanted by a little flower that scents us, while walking by. But entrancement we feel in the world of perfumes. This possibility to live fragrances, smell essences, to wrap oneself in perfume is unique, heavenly and means to us the same as to find a hidden quintessence. Also from great importance to us is the fact, that we, ourselves want to smell well, like the flowers in the garden, or however you want to name it. There are so many possibilities, so many perfumes. Most of us do just buy, collect and essentialy use them. Package and flacons are not at all important ( therefore exist others fanatics). We consider the contant as relevant. This magic, devine scented fluids, that imbrue our senses with felicity. This is real passion, not to be able to forget it or to leave it at a certain point, to want more. Some of you will call it now simply addiction. This borders, for beeing honest, are difficult to draw. But there is more behind a passion as simply a overreaching sentiment. It is an impulse that gives joy, pushes ideas and helps through difficulties. And sincerce again, what would be life without passion?

Now nobody will be amazed that in our rows of perfumelovers there are also many perfumers, or such, searching the way to be one. This deep desire to find out from what this knowlegde contains often also grows the wish to create a perfume. You dive into the secret of a Fragrance, the soal of a perfume, the core of an essence. Such a perfumecreation needs lot of time, interest and practice. Therefore even passion is put to an acid proof. You have to study hard before getting along with your experiments somehow. Noone will become easily a master, this again is part of a very powerful emotion. That musn´t be understood by everybody. Anyway its interesting what such a little phrase, often spoken beside, can contain and hide.

I love perfumes

We are starting to intuit this matter


Copyright for all texts and prictures by arts&cents