2008 Cheri Cherie Perfumes . All Rights Reserved.
1750 BC: Appearance of the first perfumes used for persons in form of oils of woods found in present day Syria.
The Babylonians were the first to use herbs in the production of Perfumes.
1400 BC: Invention of Glass, was also an important factor on the popularization of perfumes, as they were now being stored in artistic containers. Perfume spread to ancient Egypt where it was developed and used extensively. The Egyptians experimented with extracting scents from flower petals and leaves and made beauty aids, oil potions and perfumes. These perfumes were all oil based and mixed with pomades and lotions made out of milk and honey. Alcohol wasn’t invented until the 14th century to be mixed with the fragrances.
These lotions were popular due to the dry and warm climate in Egypt, to prevent skin damage.
The Egyptians were also the inventors of other Beauty products such as rouge (made out of ground resins) nail polishes ( made out of the roots of the henna plant) Eye makeup known as kohl ( made out of charcoal and combined with resin).
Some of the first incense to be used in Egypt was frankincense and myrrh. They came from area now known as Somalia and Ethiopia.These incenses were used in a large variety of ceremonies such as coronations of Pharaos and burial ceremonies. Other plants the Egyptians used were: lilies, white water lilies, sweet flag and cypress and juniper as well as the blue lotus flower.
1000BC to 1000 AD Israel and Perfumes:
There is also many occasions in the Bible where fragrances are mentioned such as the washing and perfuming of Jesus feet my Mary Magdalena. In Biblical times the most common fragrances were: woods and oils of camphor (imported from Asia) Spikenard ( Asia), saffron, calamus, cinnamon, myrrh, aloe.
The Hebrews also used frankincense, balsam, cinnamon and their own fragrance Myrtle.
700 BC Greece
In the Cities of Corinth and Athens they produced and exported oils perfumed with thyme, sage, marjoram, anise, mint, lily, iris and rose. There were hundreds of perfumers in Athens. These were sold in small, elaborately decorated ceramic pots, similar to the smaller jars still sold in Athens today.
Socarates was against the development of perfume as he worried that it would destroy the difference between slaves and free people. ( slaves apparently smelled of sweat, free men apparently not)
600 BC Greece
Perfumes and cosmetics (Kohl, rouge, powder and even bleached their hair) commonly used in Greece.
400BC Alexander the Great
Conquers most of the near East and brought awareness of many exotic fragrance plants.
He sends many plant samples to his Athenian classmate Theophrastus who established a botanical garden in Athens.
Ancient History 3000BC-1000AD
3000 BC: The first perfumes were incense burned in honor of ancient gods and ancestors in Mesopotamia around 5000 years ago.
The most popular at the time was extracted from the Lebanese cedar and imported to Mesopotamia. The ancient Akkadian word “lubbunu” which means “incense” still is present in the word “Lebanon”
Other woods used: evergreen myrtle shrub, pine, cypress and fir as well as juniper berries. (source of gin)
69-30BC Cleopatra
meets her lover roman Marc Anthony at sea perfumed with rose scented oils, even the sails of her ship were perfumed as well. There were incense burning on the ship.
200BC The Roman Empire
In the beginning of the Roman Empire, fragrances were not very common. But as everything in the Empire ended in excesses, so did the use of fragrances.
The most popular in the Empire were frankincense and Myrrh imported from southern Arabia. The height of the Empire saw the creation of perfume shops (called aromatarii) sold perfumes in terra-cotta jars and oils in glass bottles.
In the famous baths in Rome perfume scents were used regularly. After the baths perfume and Oils were applied to the body in special rooms. Through their extensive trade routes many more exotic plants were brought to Rome, such as cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg and ginger.
Rome’s master perfumers used many aromas from the Mediterranean as well, such as rose, sweet flag, iris, narcissus, saffron and oak moss. The Romans loved especially the rose, they even created a holiday : Rosalia.
Perfume’s popularity in the hight of Rome aided much to the development of the trade routes to Arabia, India and even China as well as the development of glass bottles.
200 AD Alexendria Alchimist
It was in Alexandria that the first Alchimists experimented with perfume oils.
Maria the Prophetess is credited with inventing the distillation of perfume oils, essential in the future of Perfumes.
400AD The fall of the Roman Empire
After the fall of the roman empire it was the Islamic world that had a key role in the
Development of perfumes. Arab and Persian scholars preserved the cultural achievements of the west, and advanced it in many fields such as chemistry.
Jabir ibn Hayyan (721-815AD) studied and recorded much information, some of it was related to distillation. Another famous person was Ar-Razi (840-924AD) who did of the same research. Arab and Persians developed more the trading routes established by the Romans, thus brought more herbs and spices to the Mediterranean.
They imported pepper, frankincense, myrrh, syrups made out of roses and violets, orange, camphor and musk. Incense was used a lot in homes, palaces and tents, for weddings and births. The most popular was rose scent, especially in Baghdad. Rose was also used in candies ( lokum), in west known as Turkish delight. Rose is still used in some sweets in the middle east.
Perfumes the East and far East
-The Persians loved their gardens and had many scents planted in them, such as jasmine, roses, orange blossoms and myrtle. Their gardens meant to emulate paradise on earth.
-India has had a long history throughout time with perfumes, largely because of the varied climate of the Indian subcontinent, from tropical to mountainous regions and the abundance of flowers and spices.
There are many scents associated with India, the most famous one: sandlewood.
Other notable scents from India:
Patchouli , a member of the mint family,
Vetivier ,a member of the grass family,
Champac, a member of the magnolia family, has a flowery scent,
Jasmine, there are forty three species of jasmine.
Cloves.
Many of the local religions used oils and powders in ritual bathing’s and massages.
Even in the famous book of the Karma Sutra ( around 400 ad) there was mention of Perfumes to entice sexual unions.
The Indian Perfumer was know as : Gandhika.
-China: Has had a relatively modest contribution to the world of perfumes.
Many flowering trees were imported to the west from China such as citrus, peach, apricot, camphor. China imported frankincense and myrrh.
The Chinese did enjoy fragrances as much as possible and is was a sign of wealth to bathe and being able to cover yourself in scents.
The advanced technologies in China during the last millennium brought several advances that furthered the development of Perfumes.
Porcelain was developed in China and is sometimes still used.
They also had some contributions in the distillation process of the plant oils which was later perfected in Europe.
Hungary water
