The History of Perfume Making
Many of us are searching for the history of the perfume industry in the world and how it has evolved over time. Perfumes have gone through many stages, from the Stone Age, the era of ancient civilizations, Islamic civilization, and the era of modern European civilization, until they developed and reached the present day.
Perfumes first emerged in ancient civilizations after they smelled natural flowers, roses, and spices, and learned about the things that emitted distinctive scents. From there, they began to cultivate things that emitted beautiful scents. They began to squeeze them, extracting aromatic scents in a simple way and in smaller, limited quantities used by only a few people.
How the Perfume Industry Began
Perfume making began in ancient times through the simple process of squeezing flowers. The flowers were placed on a large papyrus board, and two women held one end of the board, placing a small amount of water and roses inside. They rotated the edges together until the ingredients were squeezed and the fragrance was extracted. A large bowl was placed below for the squeezed quantities, which were stored in pottery vessels. Perfume was made by the wives of princes and queens. The rich used it as an adornment for celebrations. Later, it was made by placing roses in small pottery vessels. Perfumes were restricted to the rich, kings, and princesses for decorative purposes and were not intended for sale. The Evolution of the Perfume Industry Over Time
The ancient Egyptians were the first to use perfume, learning how to make leaves and oils. They developed a method for distilling perfumes in the tenth century, which facilitated their perfume making and made liquid perfumes widely available. Perfumes then spread and continued to expand until they reached Europe, followed by the Romans and Greeks. In the early nineteenth century, perfumers began using high-grade alcohol to learn how to make perfumes. This influenced the perfume industry. They produced scents from plants and fruits artificially, giving perfumes unparalleled scents and making them extremely distinctive. Afterward, perfume manufacturing expanded, and specialized industrial perfumes were created. The ingredients became unique and authentic.
The History of Perfume Making in Islamic Civilization
Muslims paid special attention to perfumes, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was interested in incense and perfumes and commanded people to use them. Muslims extracted perfumes in the same way as the ancient Egyptians. The Arabs were the first people to use flowers to extract flower water, approximately 1,300 years ago. They used them for perfume and incense. A cure for many diseases, their famous perfumes, musk, aloes, and roses, were popular among all merchants and tribes. Gifts were exchanged between them and other tribes, and they were used to welcome delegations.
They used all kinds of flowers, such as jasmine, roses, and orange blossoms. They taught people how to extract perfumes. The perfume industry then developed at the hands of Muslim scholars, most notably Ibn Sina, who was an expert in nature and medicine. He wrote a book called The Chemistry of Perfumes, which included many of the perfumes he composed. He also wrote a long list detailing the methods and types of perfumes he prepared. He used amber and musk in their compositions and manufacturing, considering them essential elements in all perfumes. These books, sciences, and perfumes later spread to Europe after the invasions and contact between Europe, the Arab countries, and Muslims.
The History of Perfumes in the Modern Era and European Civilization
Europeans became interested in the perfume industry and exported it to all parts of the world. Europe learned about the perfume industry from the Arabs after it was developed by the Arabs and Muslims, especially in Andalusia, due to cultural interaction. It became famous. The Hungarians became interested in perfume formulations and their manufacture, and they inherited this knowledge among themselves in specialized perfume-making establishments. They established large factories for the manufacture of perfume formulations. The Hungarians added alcohol to perfumes, a new ingredient used in perfumes. This substance became essential in perfumes in 1370, when Elizabeth, Queen of the Netherlands at the time, loved perfumes and selected them herself.
Then the French played a major role in developing perfumes, creating many unique formulations. They showed great interest in the first of these, and they excelled in them until French perfume became one of the most distinctive perfumes, and they were considered the best perfumes. They had extensive experience in perfume formulations in the seventeenth century.
With scientific developments and discoveries, especially in the field of chemistry, the perfume industry improved. Various chemical formulations and aromatic extracts were discovered, and different signatures were created for the rich and the poor, due to the addition of chemicals.
Who was the first to manufacture perfumes?
The first perfume discovered in the world is the perfume found on the island of Cyprus, where many archaeologists saw it in May 2004. This perfume dates back more than four thousand years. There are also many missions that revealed that this piece of land on which perfumes are made is four thousand square meters, as they were specialized in the manufacture of perfumes, and it most likely took its method of manufacture from the ancient Egyptians, as the method of its manufacture was similar to the items used and passed around in the Roman Empire.
