One perfume at a time

by Marie Grasse (Chief Curator) & Grégory Couderc (Head of scientific and museographic affairs)

Copyright Musée International de la Parfumerie, 2, bd du Jeu de ballon 06130 Grasse

www.museesdegrasse.com
Crédit photographique © Carlo Barbiero / Musée international de la Parfumerie

ca. -500

Greece

Aryballos suitable for perfumed oils
The Aryballo was used to store perfumed oil intended for body hygiene. Thanks to its shape, the various perfumed ingredients could be blended together by placing the thumb over the opening to prevent spillage.

ca. -400

Greece

A vial for this world and the after-life
This lecythe, with a white background, depicts a Dionysian scene. From the VIth century B.C. onwards, this type of container was used mainly in funerals.

ca. -200

Syria

The cosmetic jar – the perfume accessory
Long-necked cosmetic jars were produced in large quantities in Rome. Made from colourless or bluish glass and stained dark blue, amber or violet, they were used to store perfumes.

IXe - XIe

Middle East

Glass wins acclaim
Glass was highly prized during the Middle Ages because of its transparency and capacity to store liquids and vapours. It became more sophisticated over the centuries, both in terms of its shape and decoration.

XVIIe

England

Perfume became the glassmaker’s business
All European glassworkers became involved in the perfume craze. They never ceased to improve and invent items in order to satisfy a sophisticated clientele that expressed its taste and personality as much in the choice of its fragrances as in that of the containers. Purchased in universal, unmarked vials, the perfume or salts were decanted into sculpted bottles.

XVIIIe

England

Delicate Chelsea Toys from England
England remains faithful to soft porcelain like this from Chelsea (1745 –1769). The Chelsea Toys, like this figurine, illustrate themes that were very popular in the XVIIIth century: love and country-style tastes, etc.

XXe

Morocco

Fragrant accessoriesFlowers, leaves, seeds and wood are used as accessories in many regions around the world to perfume the body: crowns of flowers or leaves, garlands of mint leaves, cloves and sandalwood…

ca. XXe

France

From glassmaker to designer – a bottle is the signature of a brand name

In the early XXth century, after a long period during which only the container label distinguished the contents, perfumers worked closely with crystal manufacturers to create the most desirable of “attire”. The industrial revolution would be a key factor in their collaboration. Bottles, which were created for the perfumer, Coty, from 1920 onwards by the master glassmaker, Lalique, who produced work of an exceptionally high quality thanks to mechanical processes, symbolise this new joint venture. The containers began to evoke the fragrances inside.