The history of perfume began in antiquity. The word perfume is used today to describe scented aromas and is derived from the Latin word, "per fumus", meaning through smoke. The French later gave the name parfum to the pleasant smells that drift through the air from burning incense. The history of perfume is often intertwined with the history of the human race. The oldest perfumery so far discovered was on the island of Cyprus. Evidence was unearthed of an enormous factory during the Bronze Age, indicating that perfume manufactring was on an industrial scale.
One of the oldest uses of perfume comes form the burning of incense and aromatic herbs used in religious services. The Egyptians were the first to incorporate perfume into their culture, and Egypt still holds a prominent place in perfume essential oil production, and is responsible for a significant portion of the world's jasmine production.
Incense made its way to Egypt around 3000 BC, and became very popular with Queen Hatshepsut. She led expeditions in search of incense and other valuable commodities. The results of which were later recorded on the walls of a temple created in her honor. In the temple was a botanical garden filled with incense trees recovered from these expeditions.
Ancient Egyptian men and women used scented oils to mask body odour. Queen Nefertiti, an Egyptian beauty and wife of the Pharoah Akhenaten, surrounded herself with perfume and flacons filled with sweet oils, and perhaps their most famous ruler, Cleopatra, was well known for her lavish use of perfume. When she greeted Mark Antony, a Roman politician, she was on a ship with perfumed sails. Her arrival was announded by clouds of perfume even before her barge came into view.
Egyptians carried perfume with them from birth until after their death. Many Egyptians put perfumes in their tombs to keep their skin silky smooth in the afterlife. Since the Egyptians believed that the soul ascended into heaven, relatives saw to it that perfume accompanied the spirit.
The ancient Greeks and Romans learned about perfumes from the Egyptians. The Greeks are attributed with the art of making the first liquid perfume, although it was quite different from perfume as we know it today. Their perfumes were fragrant powders mixed with heavy oils.
Like the Egyptians, the Cretans most highly regarded flower was the Lily, closely followed by the Rose, and they used a variety of vegetable oils to carry the essential oils of these two flowers. Perfume shops were popular meeting places for almost everyone, and perfume was lavishly used by both men and women.
In Roman times, pet dogs and horses were also perfumed. During feasts they perfumed draperies, candlesticks, tables and cushions, and birds were released from their cages to dispense perfume from their wings, while the servants wore musk, marjoran and other aromatics.
Perfume usage has been documented as far back as the 6th centurey in islamic culture, and considered a religious duty. As traders, the Arabs and Persians had wider access to different spices, herbs, and other fragrance materials. the Phoenicians brought aromatic gums overland from China. Possession of the sweet-smelling herbs was evidence of wealth, and owners of large amounts of the oils were greatly respected. In addition to trading in these exotic materials, they cultivated jasmine and citrus. Both are still highly important in modern perfumery.
Floral perfumes were brought to Europe in the 11th and 12th centuries through trade with the Islamic world and by the returning Crusaders. It was the Hungarians who introduced the first modern perfume, made of scented oils blended in an alcohol solution, which was made in 1370 at the command of Queen Elizabeth of Hungary. It was known throughout Europe as Hungary Water.
Perfume reached its peak in England during the reigns of Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I. All public places were scented during Queen Elizabeth's rule, and ladies of the day took great pride in creating delightful fragrances which displayed their skill in mixing scents.
France quickly became the European center of perfume manufacture. Cultivation of flowers for their perfume essence, grew into a major industry in the south of France.
Perfume came into its own when Louis XV came to the throne. His court was called 'le cour parfumee' or 'the perfumed court'. Madame de Pompadour ordered generous supplies of perfume, and King Louis demanded a different fragrance for his apartment everyday.
When Napoleon came to power, exhorbitant expenditure on perfume continued. It is said, that two quarts of violet cologne were delivered to him every week, and he used 60 bottles of double extract of jasmine each month. Josephine had stronger perfume preferences. She liked musk, and used so much that sixty years after her death the scent still lingered in her boudoir. As the use of perfume steadily grew, perfume gloves became popular, and by the 18th century, aromatic plants were being grown in the Grasse region of France to provide the growing perfume industry with raw materials.
The perfume industry was to undergo profound change in the 19th century. Changing tastes and the development of modern chemistry laid the foundations of perfumery as we know it today. Alchemy gave way to chemistry and new fragrances were created.
