The Ancient Egyptians were famous in the ancient world for a great many things. Their cities, most notably Thebes, were thought to have been the wealthiest in the entire world, with more gates and higher walls than anywhere else, and where men built up vast treasure-houses (Homer Iliad 9.383-4). The Egyptians were also famed magicians and sorcerers, with a greater knowledge of the magico-religious properties of plants and herbs than any other ancient people. Ancient peoples treasured their grain, their linen, their flower-garlands, their gold, and even their courtesans. Egyptian products made it far from their homeland, and were found in places as diverse as Spain, Greece, Skythia, Babylonia, India and Central Africa. But perhaps the most famous Egyptian product, the good with which the Egyptians were most closely associated abroad, was perfume.

Egyptian parfumiers had been at the top of their league for centuries. Characteristic Egyptian scents included myrrh, frankincense, lily, cinnamon, cardamom and henna. In the hot and humid climate of Egypt, where people lived cheek-by-jowl in densely populated cities on the edge of the river valley, it became highly important for high-ranking Egyptians to protect their patrician noses from the aromas of everyday life. It is important to remember that most Egyptian life was lived outdoors, or – for the wealthy – in open colonnades. Houses were for sleeping, receiving guests, and worshipping the household gods. So, the stench of the street was intense. On important occasions, Egyptian elites wore cones of wax on their heads, impregnated with perfume; as the night wore on, and the wax melted, a pleasant aroma would be released onto their thick wigs. Besides practical uses, perfume was hugely religiously and culturally important as well. The statues of the gods, like their human counterparts, needed to be anointed daily with perfumes. Incense and other scents were burned in their presence, and carried before them in the important religious festival of opet. The huge significance of scent was reflected in Egyptian folklore and myth. The god Nefertem, the son of the gods Ptah and Sekhmet, was specifically associated with pleasant scents. He was the god of pleasure, and it was considered that pleasure ultimately achieved through the nose. Egyptian love poetry also reveals that scent was a vital part of Egyptian courtship, with the smelling of sweet flowers or rich perfumes seen as both a signifier of romantic affection, and as a precursor to sexual relations. The famously intimate scenes of Tutankhamun and his wife Ankhesenamun on the back of his royal throne (Egyptian Museum, Cairo JE 62028) depict her anointing the Pharaoh with perfume in an act of spousal affection; other scenes from the King’s tomb depict the royal couple offering each other lotus blossoms to smell.

Egyptian perfumes were stored in jars called alabastra, after the stone from which they were largely made. These little vases were perhaps the most elegant, and certainly the most enduring, of the Egyptian stone vases. Their influence was felt in ancient Cyprus, Classical Greece, and Rome, and can still be detected today. This alabastron is in a shape which became popular during the Late Period, and was largely seen in exports to the Aegean world. We must think of this unique shape as almost part of the ‘brand’ of Egyptian perfume: one would know that one had the original Egyptian product if it came in a vessel like this. Of course, this invited imitators, and gradually the association was lost. It consists of a rounded drop-shaped body, with a narrow cylindrical neck, and a flat disk rim. A pair of tiny lug handles are evident on the side, tiny nubs that may be a fossilised remnant of previous larger vessels where they had a practical purpose. Alternatively, these little bumps may be designed to aid one’s grip on the bottle when it is slick with perfumed oil. It is carved from attractive light-coloured banded Egyptian alabaster (actually a type of travertine). The walls are thick, and the piece would have been hollowed out with a bronze-tipped chisel spun in a bow-drill. The skill of the craftsman should not be underestimated. The small size od the internal cavity demonstrates the high value of the perfumes it once contained. This shape conforms to Petrie, W. M. F. (1937) The Funeral Furniture of Egypt, with Stone and Metal Vases. London. no. 969.

References: examples of alabastra of this type can be found in London (British Museum 1896,0201.334), Oxford (Ashmolean Museum AN1913.722), Liverpool (World Museum 1977.112.156, 56.22.548, 1977.112.164), Greenock (Mclean Museum 1987.387), New York (Metropolitan Museum of Art X,248.5), Boston (Museum of Fine Arts 72.495, 72.494, 20.1084, 20.1092), Saint Louis (Saint Louis Art Museum 144.1921), Houston (Museum of Fine Arts 2000.242), and Boulder (University of Colorado Art Museum 2006.33).