FIRST IRANIANS WHO WERE ENGAGED WITH THE ART OF PERFUMERY

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INTRODUCTION: Reliable evidences indicate that perfumery, or the art of making perfumes began in ancient Iran first and it was then transferred to ancient Egypt. It was later developed and further refined by the Romans. Knowledge of perfumery came to Europe as early as the 14th century. By the 18th century, aromatic (aroma means pleasant odor) plants were being grown in Grasse, a town in southeast of France, to provide the growing perfume industry with raw materials. Presently, Grasse is known as the world's perfume capital, and it produces over tow-third of France's natural aromas. This industry turns over more than 600m Euros a year and today, France remains the centre of the European perfume design and trade. In olden days, fragrance was used to hide unpleasant odors and impart a pleasant scent to the skin, hair or the environment. Today fragrance is added to bath soaps, shampoos, antiperspirants, bath oils, lotions, laundry soap, cleaning products, candles, and other consumer products for the same purposes. Fragrance is also used to influence mood or emotion via aromatherapy.

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FIRST IRANIANS ENGAGED WITH THE ART OF PERFUMERY: Mythological and archeological evidences together with the religious documents and historians’ observations indicate that ancient Iranians were familiar with the art of perfumery.

1. Mythological Evidences: The famous Iranian Sunni historian and theologian, Tabari, believed that Jamshid, one of the first ten mythological kings of ancient Iran, was the original maker of perfumes. He wrote: “Jamshid picked up many useful things, including aromatic plants when he was traveling in various lands, seas, and mountains”. Famous Iranian poet, mathematician and astronomer Omar Khayyam documented that Jamshid had an access to ambergris (a solid, fatty, flammable substance of a dull grey or blackish color, the shades being variegated like marble, possessing a peculiar sweet, earthy odor), myrrh (in Persian: Mor), camphor, saffron and other aromatic plants. It is also documented that Manouchehr, another mythological king of ancient Iran, had some roles in the discovery of perfumes and aromatic flowers. Researchers have reported that Manouchehr brought many blossoms, flowers and herbs from mountains to towns and cities. He ordered a park (in Persian: Paradise) to be built, and when the blossoms appeared and a pleasant smell was in the air, he called it the Garden of Pleasant Odors (in Persian: Boostan). Ferdowsi in his famous epic book of Shah Nameh recalling the triumphed ceremony of Fraydoon, another mythological king of ancient Iran, over the Dragon King (in Persian: Zahaak) wrote that Fraydoon put the crown on his head and ordered to set fire and stir up ambergris and saffron.

2. Archeological Evidences: Based on archeological finds, William James Durant (The American Philosopher, and writer and the author of The Story of Civilization) and some other western scholars wrote that Iranians were the first manufacturers of various kinds of perfumes, discoverers of decorative and cosmetic powders. In one of the ornaments and carvings in Persepolis, Darius the Great (the Persian Emperor from 521 to 485 BC) is shown while sitting on a chair with two scent bottles in front of him, and Xerxes (reigned 485-465 BC) is standing behind him while holding the same kind of flowers in the left hand. These flowers are probably Lily of the Valley or Narcissus (a yellow, white or orange flower, similar to a daffodil), which were peculiar to Fars (a province in the south of present-day Iran). In another ornament and carving, an Iranian girl is holding an aromatic flower or an apple in front of her face or nose.

3. Historical Evidences: These evidences indicate that cultivation of many types of aromatic plants and flowers, extracting roses to obtain Rose Water (in Persian: Golaab), preparation of perfumed oil, manufacturing musk and ambergris were widespread in ancient Iran, particularly in Fars. The traditional equipments and instruments to obtain Rose Water were abundant in many towns and villages of Fars province, particularly in Firouzabad and Kazeroon. According to Greek historian, Herodotus, Darius' infantry (the part of an army that fights on foot) was 10,000 in number, all of whom were crowned. The crowns were made of aromatic flowers and leaves of myrtle (in Persian: Moord or Parvanash or Gol-e-Telephoni).

4. Religious Evidences: Late Abbas Eghbal-e-Ashtiani, Iranian scholar, wrote: "Use of perfume and aromatic materials, burning of myrrh and ambergris were among the followers of Mani”. (Manichaeism was one of the major ancient religions. The religion was founded by Mani, who was born in western Iran and lived approximately 210-275 AD. Mani's holy book was called Arzhang and was beautified with paintings. This gave him a title as the painter prophet). According to the Old Testament, Ester Book, when Ester (Star), a Jewish girl, wanted to be included among the women of the court of Achaemenids, she had to be cleaned and purified. The purifications of six months with myrrh oil and six months with perfumes were carried out.

MODERN PERFUMERY: In modern perfumery, the assembly of a perfume requires both art and science in the understanding of Olfaction (or the sense of smell and it is the detection of chemicals dissolved in air), Extraction of scented elements, and careful Blending of scents to achieve the desired composition. The production method of choice depends on the botanical source. Several methods are employed in modern perfumery. Essential oils of citrus may simply be squeezed from the peels. Other essences are obtained by distillation or extraction methods. Many scents that are difficult or costly to obtain from natural sources can be produced synthetically. Essential oils may be found in roots, flowers, leaves, fruit, seeds or bark of the plant. Growing and harvesting conditions are optimized for the production of the best fragrances. For example, the finest roses for perfumery are those grown in many countries in the Middle East and Far East and the best jasmine flowers are collected at early morning before the sun rises. Scents are classified as notes based on their olfactory character. A perfume is a unique mixture of top, middle, and base notes designed to give a particular harmony of scents. Perfumes generally fall into several families based on the dominant note. These include spicy, leather/tobacco, woody, mossy, citrus, oriental, and any of them may be formulated for men or women. The floral scents of jasmine and rose are used in 83% and 75% of men's and women's perfumes, respectively. Many of today's fragrances contain vanilla or a synthetic form of vanilla. Most men's fragrances will contain patchouli from India or Indonesia. (Patchouli is both a plant and an essential oil derived from the leaves of that plant. The scent of patchouli is very strong, and some people find it offensive). Musk or synthetic derivatives is used in 90% of all fine fragrances.

THOUGH IRAN WAS POSSIBLY THE MOTHERLAND OF PERFUMERY ART AND IS STILL RICH IN THE RELATIVE RAW MATERIALS, IT IS A PITY THAT SHE CANNOT BE CONSIDERED AMONG THE MAIN PRODUCERS OF PRECIOUS AND INTERNATIONALLY KNOWN PERFUMES AT THE PRESENT TIME!