The fragrance, containing notes of bamboo, orchid, plum blossom and eucalyptus, is infused with the aroma of the Chinese garden courtyard Astor, while Spiced Woods is reminiscent of the art of the Himalayas. Perfume Immortelle is reminiscent of Roman marble. statuesterracotta rose halls Greek antiquities and Blue Water Lotus, containing notes of water lily, jasmine, incense and myrrh, pays homage to the flowers depicted in the Roman Egyptian temple of Dendur.

Last week, Pura launched six new home fragrances inspired by his favorite rooms and works of art. Metropolitan Museum of New York (Met). “Art has the power to create connections and move us through time and space,” commented Josh Rohm, curator of a museum project that allows Met fans to “smell” art and cultural history from the comfort of their homes.

“Do you agree with such marketing moves in museums?” we ask Dr. Maria Lagojanni, former director National Archaeological Museum. “Absolutely,” he replies. “Of course, specific fragrances are not based on historical evidence, but are basically a form of sensual interpretation of the past in the modern era. Overall, however, I find the effort on the archeology of feelings very interesting,” he adds.

950,000 visitors

Three pristine fragrances – rose, coriander and sage – accompanied the National Archaeological Museum exhibition in 2018, but did not find their place on the museum shelves.

The truth of her words is evidenced by the successful exhibition “Countless Faces of Beauty”, presented at the Archaeological Museum from May 2018 to the end of 2019, which attracted more than 950,000 people. The exhibition, with 340 ancient works from the Neolithic period to late antiquity, revealed the “Beautiful” as an ever-evolving reality and offered a synthetic and reflective approach to the ancient world. “In addition to reconstructing elements of myth and archaeological documents, the exhibition attempted to approach the Beautiful and the world of the senses through the innovative reproduction of ancient aromatic oils,” explains Ms. Lagojanni. The Korres group made a non-commercial contribution to the creation of ancient perfumes, and an archaeologist from the museum collaborated with a chemist and agronomist from the company.

“It was the most magical plan we have ever tried to implement,” – says Lena Philippou “K”., co-founder of the group and head of innovation. “The proposal to revive the fragrances of Greek antiquity was a wonderful challenge. As a chemist and a Greek, I couldn’t help but accept it, but the evidence we had at the beginning was minimal.”

The effort was ultimately successful, as those of us who visited the exhibition will remember. However, research and testing took about a year and a half. This journey through experimental archeology was the first to make use of the information provided by the Linear B tablets and records of the Mycenaean period palaces, which recorded ingredients destined for perfumers. Guided by this information, recipes appearing in the books of Dioscorides and Theophrastus, as well as later research on the ancient method of preparing aromatic oils, the laboratory revived the spirits of antiquity, while remaining true to the methods of the past.

As a result of a bibliographic study, three aromatic plants were selected – rose, sage and cypress / coriander, as well as a method of preparation. According to Theophrastus, the best cypress grows in the Cyclades. Gradually collected wild oil, rose petals and essential oil, sage leaves and essential oil, coriander seeds, wool as a filter medium, and red wine, which was used as an auxiliary medium.

The exhibition featured three primordial fragrances – Rose, Coriander and Sage. Antiquities associated with the world of Mycenaean spirits include Linear B tablets, fake-necked amphoras that held fragrant oils, figurines and sculptures of Cupids and Venuses, spirits that helped visitors re-immerse themselves in forgotten senses of the world that may not have been completely lost. . At the same time, Korres released a limited edition of 500 perfumes called Aphrodite’s Rose. However, the perfume could not be placed in the museum shop and is now sold out.

“I had the feeling that I was on a journey into the ancient world of perfumery, during which I felt that I was touching the same raw materials, the same perfumes, as the perfumers of antiquity,” writes Yordanis Samanidis, a chemist at the company, evaluating his experience from the project. “Of course, even for a moment, I shared the same pleasure of the seminar with them.”