Round Otto of Rose perfume bottles
Object No. D3266
The Museum acquired this perfume flask in 1893 as part of a collection of botanical specimens sent from the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, in London. However this flask's journey did not begin in London, as the label reveals, the flask was used as a vessel for the importation of 'Otto of Rose', otherwise known as 'attar of rose' or rose oil. Rose oil is the essential oil extracted from the petals of roses generally of the variety Rosa damascena, which is the basis for the industry in Eastern Europe, Turkey and Syria and Rosa centrifolia, the basis of the industry in Morocco, Egypt and Western Europe. Yields of oil vary widely and it could take between 1500 and 10 000 kilograms of rose petals to make one kilogram of rose oil. Though the price of rose oil is high and its manufacture process is labour intensive, it remains one of the most widely used essential oils in perfume and cosmetics. Records housed in the Economic Botany Department at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew reveal that the flask was originally donated by the perfume company Piesse & Lubin, who had imported the oil from Turkey. Piesse & Lubin were a prominent perfume house in London during the nineteenth century. However imports were not limited to rose oil. Piesse & Lubin imported both raw and processed botanical material from China, Malaysia and Mexico, all for the purpose of perfume manufacture. Based at the prestigious location of No. 2 New Bond Street, the only Street which runs between Oxford Street and Piccadilly in the West End of London, Piesse & Lubin operated their 'Laboratory of Flowers' where many different fragrances were produced. Designed for different tastes and emotions, all had alluring names, such as 'Bosphorous Bouquet - from the Valley of Sweet Waters' and 'Box-his-Ears', the sequel to 'Stolen Kisses'. Like any fashion, perfume went through highs and lows of popularity, with different scents taking preference at different times. The Piesse & Lubin Company closed in c. 1900 after over thirty years in the perfume industry. Their inventively named perfumes, 'Kiss-me-Quick', 'Stolen Kisses' and 'Box his Ears', included a wide range of perfume notes including Opoponax, Vanilla, Tonka bean, Lemon, Bergamot, Mandarin, Patchouli, Civet absolute, Egyptian jasmine absolute, May rose absolute, Iris concrete, Frankincense and Otto of Rose. Though it no longer exists, the Piesse & Lubin Company were significant contributors to the perfume industry in the nineteenth century, and though different technology is now used to create perfumes many of their ingredients, such as Otto of Rose, remain the same. References • International trade centre, 'Turkey: Rose and other essential oils', http://www.intracen.org/uploadedFiles/intracenorg/Content/Exporters/Market_Data_and_Information/Market_information/Market_Insider/Essential_Oils/Turkey%20and%20Rose%20Oil.pdf, accessed 2015. • Leffingwell, John C., Aroma from Carotenoids (Leffingwell & Associates, 1999). • Piesse, G.W. Septimus, The Art of Perfumery and Methods of Obtaining the Odours of Plants (Philadelphia: C. Sherman & Son, 1857). • Pliny the Elder (Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus maior), Naturalis Historia. • Rayner-Canham, Marelene, and Geoffrey Rayner-Canham. 'Women in Chemistry: Their Changing Roles from Alchemical Times to the Mid-Twentieth Century' (Chemical Heritage Foundation, 2005). • Rhind, Jennifer, 'Fragrance and Wellbeing: Plant Aromatics and Their Influence on the Psyche', (Singing Dragon, 2013). Rebecca Anderson, MAAS volunteer, 2015
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Summary
Object Statement
Perfume containers (2), Otto of Rose, copper / paper / cork / rose oil residue, maker unknown, Turkey, used by perfume company Piesse and Lubin, London, England, acquired 1893
Physical Description
Round hammered copper flask with small spout and cork stopper. Records housed in the Economic Botany Department at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, London, state that the object is a "Copper flask in which 113 ounces of Turkish Otto of Rose valued at 169 pounds 10 shillings was imported. Second flask No. 632 in wadding." Acquired by the Museum of Applied Arts and Science in 1893 from the Museum of Economic Botany - Kew, London
DIMENSIONS
Depth
75 mm
Diameter
170 mm
PRODUCTION
Notes
Acquired in 1893. This flask was designed to hold rose oil, otherwise known as otto or attar of rose. Rose oil is the essential oil extracted from the petals of roses generally of the variety Rosa damascena, which is the basis for the industry in Eastern Europe, Turkey and Syria and Rosa centrifolia, which is the basis of the industry in Morocco, Egypt and Western Europe. Yields of oil vary widely and it can take between 1500 and 10 000 kilograms of rose petals to make one kilogram of rose oil. Though the price of rose oil is high and its manufacture process is labour intensive, it remains one of the most widely used essential oils in perfume and cosmetics. The flask itself is made out of hammered copper and has a capacity of approximately 113 ounces of liquid (3.34 litres). Copper is a soft, malleable and ductile metal and an essential element with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. It is found in ore deposits around the world and was first worked by crafts persons around 10,000 years ago and as alloyed in bronze (copper-tin alloy) about 5000 years ago. Today some of copper's uses include automotive applications, antimicrobial uses, heating, cooling and refrigeration, electrical wiring, electronics, power generation and transmission.
HISTORY
Notes
George William Septimus Piesse was the chemist and perfumer behind the Piesse & Lubin Company. Fascinated by the role of perfume in society and intent on sharing techniques for the furtherment of his industry, Piesse wrote many scientific texts about the manufacture of perfume, including a seminal text named 'The Art of Perfumery' (1857), which went on to ten editions. 'The Art of Perfumery' is an interesting text as it emphasises the concept that scent must be taught, refined and developed, in the same manner as the other senses. As Piesse wrote, "The patrons of perfumery have always been considered the most civilized and refined people of the earth. If refinement consists in knowing how to enjoy the faculties which we possess, then must we learn not only how to distinguish the harmony of colour and form, in order to please the sight, the melody of sweet sounds to delight the ear; the comfort of appropriate fabrics to cover the body, and to please the touch, but the smelling faculty must be shown how to gratify itself with the odoriferous products of the garden and the forest." The text also describes scientific techniques for the exact replication of specific scents, like a recipe book for perfumes, providing insight into the development of perfume manufacture and its long history. As Piesse expressed, perfume has a long history dating back thousands of years. The first recorded perfumer was a Mesopotamian chemist named Tapputi-Belatekallim, mentioned on a cuneiform tablet dating to circa 1200 BC. An overseer of the Royal Palace, Tapputi created perfume products out of flowers, oil, Acorus calamus, cypress, myrrh and other aromatic resins, which she purportedly distilled using her own methods. Following on from this tradition, perfume became a widely used product in Egypt and glass perfume bottles have been discovered that date to around 1000 BC. The methods and ingredients used in the manufacture of this perfume are described in Book 13 of Pliny the Elder's 'Naturalis Historia'. Although critical of perfumes, which he stated were 'the most superfluous of all forms of luxury (…)' Pliny lists a number of cosmetic and medicinal uses for rose oil, including its use as a complexion enhancer and as a cure for earache. Perfume came into its own in Europe under the reign of King Louis XV of France (1710 - 1774), reaching its peak in England around the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. As with industry and the arts, perfume manufacture underwent a profound change in the 19th century as alchemy gave way to chemistry and new fragrances were created. Under the post-revolutionary government people once again dared to express a penchant for luxury goods, including perfume, and the development of modern chemistry laid the foundations of perfumery as we know it today.
SOURCE
Credit Line
Acquired by Exchange with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, 1893
Acquisition Date
7 August 1893
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