The Egyptian merchant raised an eyebrow and smiled. He leaned toward me with a sparkle in his eyes and a compliment on his lips. With a clap of his hands, a servant brought out a tray of several glass bottles filled with a variety of perfume oils. We sat together for the next two hours, drinking tea, sampling the oils, and deciding which of the delicate fragrances I would purchase. When I departed from the shop, I had selected several oils, each with its own exotic name. I felt relaxed and pleased, and carried these oils back home with me like precious treasures. Since that pleasant afternoon in Cairo, I have often wondered about the history behind Egyptian perfume.
As precious as it was to me, Egyptian perfume was prized as a treasured commodity throughout the ancient world. The imported and most expensive oils were the realm of the upper class, and yet everyone was urged to use perfume, both women and men.
Anointing the body usually followed bathing, as the Egyptians attached the greatest importance to personal cleanliness. Then as now, wearing perfume brought with it a feeling of physical well-being and restfulness. Pouring scented oil on the top of the head, especially during festivals and other public rejoicings, perfumed the hair. Scented cones on the hair melted slowly during a banquet. The perfumed grease released a pleasant fragrance as it ran down over wigs and clothes. Festival attendees were offered a choice of perfume at the door and given a garland of flowers to hang around the neck.
In addition to enhancing body scent, climatic conditions made it necessary for ancient Egyptians to anoint themselves with oils and unguents of various kinds. Perfumed oils were used to lubricate the body for protection against the sun and dry climate, and to rejuvenate and prevent premature aging of the skin in the arid conditions. An oil derived from the henna flower was said to be an excellent anti-perspirant. Ointments and creams were also used for cleansing the body, as soap was not invented until Roman times.
Essential oils also had therapeutic and medicinal purposes. For example, some were used as a sedative and some as a disinfectant. Others boosted the immune system, fought infection, and cleared bacteria and viruses from the air. Still others were used to treat insomnia, the flu, wounds and toothache.
Perfumes were supposed to possess magical properties and were used in ritual ceremonies. The dead as well as the living made use of perfumes. Anointing with oil had ceremonial importance, and under the Old Kingdom, the dead were anointed during their funerals. There was direct symbolic intent regarding the magical rejuvenation of the dead.
The way perfumes were made was recorded in Egyptian manuscripts and on the walls of tombs. The oils were obtained from plants and trees, both native and foreign, and from animal fats. Unguents were often scented with flowers, leaves, wood and spices. Lilies, the most popular ingredient, were combined with honey, myrrh, cardamom, cinnamon, and crocus to produce a sweet and pungent fragrance. The perfume made in ancient Egypt was quite enduring. In 1922, when the tomb of King Tut was opened, containers of ointment were discovered, and the fragrance was yet detectible!
Perhaps as important as perfume was the use of incense. As well as using oils, women perfumed their bodies by fumigation, seating themselves over or near small piles of burning powder made of gums and aromatic substances. One of the principal ingredients was sandalwood powder.
Often garments were steeped in incense. The ancient Egyptians were immensely fond of frankincense and myrrh attar produced in southern Arabia. Popular attars today include: musk, henna, amber, jasmine, lavender and lemon grass.
Incense was used in the temple ritual and for various other purposes. It was referred to as "the fragrance of the gods". There is evidence that suggests that this meant far more than just the fragrance dedicated to or enjoyed by the Egyptians' deities. The gods not only revealed themselves by sight and sound, but also by smell. The fragrance of burning incense thus not only revealed the divine presence, but also was in one sense a manifestation of the god for whom the incense was burnt. The use of incense was magically significant for the transformation of the deceased into a divine state, and this is reflected in the relation of the Egyptian name for this substance, senetcher, with the word senetcheri "to make divine".
Scented oils and salves were kept in vessels made of stone or alabaster with closely fitting covers to prevent the escape of the perfume. Sets of four, six or more containing the choicest kinds of perfumed oils were frequently arranged in specially constructed cases. Today, beautiful Pyrex perfume bottles are available to store one's favorite scents. You might enjoy the simple luxury and pure femininity of a collection of these hand-blown, exotic bottles.
It never ceases to amaze me what gifts we have received from pharoanic times as ancient as 4000 B.C., and that, to this day, we can find an Egyptian merchant to sell us some!
(back)
©2001 Jasmin Jahal