Event details
Sep
21
Perfume's Cultural Currents: A Selection of Historical Moments (and Smells)
Just like works of visual art, fashion, or architecture, fragrance can be interpreted as material culture with specific historical contexts and enduring influence.
In this multi-sensory program, an illustrated lecture by fragrance historian Jessica Murphy will highlight key moments from perfumery’s long past while we sample a selection of related fragrant materials. How long have people been blending and using aromatic mixtures, and why did they start doing it? How did France become known as the center of Western perfumery? What made some perfumes “modern” in the late nineteenth century? After considering these questions and some other connections between scent and cultural history, we’ll also smell present-day fragrances that use these long-valued materials.
The session will begin with a brief presentation on related library resources by Policy and International Affairs Brittany Norwood.
In this multi-sensory program, an illustrated lecture by fragrance historian Jessica Murphy will highlight key moments from perfumery’s long past while we sample a selection of related fragrant materials. How long have people been blending and using aromatic mixtures, and why did they start doing it? How did France become known as the center of Western perfumery? What made some perfumes “modern” in the late nineteenth century? After considering these questions and some other connections between scent and cultural history, we’ll also smell present-day fragrances that use these long-valued materials.
The session will begin with a brief presentation on related library resources by Policy and International Affairs Brittany Norwood.
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