Sniffing out history

Five exhibitions of Egyptian perfumes and cosmetics have been opened simultaneously in Cairo and Paris, in a bid to further cultural ties between Egypt and France. Nevine El-Aref took in the aroma
Why did Egypt and France choose to celebrate their relations using perfumes and cosmetics? Was it because love stories often start with fragrances? Or because they played such an important part in religious rituals and contemporary life in ancient Egypt? Indeed, some of those ancient essences and fragrances, known to men and women throughout millennia, are used to this day in mosques and churches and sold in Egyptian bazaars.
At the exhibition's inauguration ceremony last Friday, the atmosphere of ancient Egypt was re-created in the garden of the Egyptian Museum. It was, in many ways, a night to remember. Musicians played on age-old musical instruments; a narrator described the Pharaonic creation-myth, the story of the god Atum; and a beauty specialist used ancient implements and varied cosmetics to transform a model into the famous Queen Nefertiti.
This modern-day queen wore a diaphanous linen robe, such as those worn by the wife of Akhenaten as depicted in coloured reliefs in her tomb. Her hair was covered with a glittering net, and the beautician lined her eyes with kohl, enhanced her eyebrows, and coloured her cheeks and lips.
The evening was meant to add another example of cultural collaboration between Egypt and France, represented by the Centre Fançais de Culture et de Cooperation, to the public gaze. Exhibitions of cosmetics and perfumes from Pharaonic times through to the Islamic and modern eras are being held simultaneously in two museums in France (the Louvre in Paris and the Vieille Charité in Marseilles) and in Cairo in the Islamic Museum, the Agricultural Museum, and the Egyptian Museum -- with the latter hosting the opening ceremony.
"This is an example of collaboration not only between museums but also between cultures, and professionals of various disciplines," said French Ambassador François Dopffer. He explained, "To mark this week several workshops have been sponsored by France's Centre Sciences d'Orléans, which is for children from 8 to 13 years old. The aim is to enable them to experience how the ancient Egyptians processed and fabricated their various products -- techniques which were continued through to Islamic times, and even until today."
The Islamic Museum's exhibit shows the herbs used to extract perfume and incense in medieval times, as well as those used as decorative motifs in Islamic architecture. Each visiting child will be encouraged to produce his or her own perfume from the plants.
A further workshop, in Fustat market in Old Cairo, is designed for both handicapped and able-bodied children to get a hands-on understanding of objects on display. Bouquets of artificial flowers -- carbon copies of those that appear on ancient temple walls -- will be presented to them and other visitors.
Fustat is also home to a scheme aimed more at grown-ups. "Science et Beaute" is the theme of a number of gathering places being created in the ancient district for informal discussions about the perfumes industry.
The Egyptian Museum's exhibit will give children a chance to become Pharaonic kings and queens with the aid of make-up. The specialists who will make-up their faces will be using natural powdered minerals and stones and using the same instruments as those on display in the museum. The children will learn about the techniques used by their ancestors, as well as more modern processes used in the production of such cosmetics as the eye paint, Kohl.
"The scenes depicted on the walls of ancient tombs, scenes of the cultivation of aromatic and herbal plants in Egyptian gardens, have cast considerable light on the origin of perfumes," said Zahi Hawass, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities. He mentioned the attention that ancient Egyptian women gave to their personal cleanliness and appearance.
He also told the delightful tale of the discovery of the mummy of a young, unmarried girl in the Valley of the Golden Mummies at Bahariya Oasis. Despite her youth, she had her face beautifully made-up for the afterlife. "In the tomb of Tutankhamun," Zahi went on, "Lumps of both malachite and galena were found, both of which were used as a base for powder mixed with gum and oil."
Scented oils and perfumes were stored in elaborate and beautiful pots and jars throughout Egyptian history. They were so highly prized that they were among the first items taken by robbers from various tombs.
Consequently, some of the finest pieces are now to be found in museums around the world. In Egypt, such pots, containers and jars can be seen in the Egyptian and Islamic museums, and in the Agricultural Museum, which is home to baskets that were used to store various aromatic and remedial plants.
The five exhibitions in France and Egypt differ significantly from one another. In the Egyptian Museum, 174 objects were chosen for display in Room 44 on the first floor of the museum; and the exhibition will last for three months.
Perhaps the most noteworthy object is the beautiful wooden head of a youthful Tutankhamun rising out of a lotus blossom -- which was a popular symbol of rebirth in ancient times. There is also a collection of decorative cosmetic containers made of various stones, copper and wood; combs, mirrors, tweezers and other beautification implements; as well as reliefs depicting women being made-up, or already seated at a banquet with cones on their heads, designed to cast a sweet-smelling aroma around them.
"Despite the fact that the head of Tutankhamun is the masterpiece of this collection, there is one ostraca which is equally worthy of note," said Mamdouh El-Damati, general director of the Museum. "It shows an unidentified New Kingdom king fully made-up -- not only his eyes but also his lips which are tinted red."
El-Damati also pointed out a large Middle Kingdom statue of a beautifully robed servant making an offering of food and flowers at a cemetery.
The Islamic Museum opened on Monday involves a display of 35 items, among them magnificent fabricated metal containers for eye-paint and perfumes, and also incense burners. These are exquisite examples of Islamic metalwork, which general-director Rifaat Abdel-Azim described as "the finest work produced in the Fatimid and Ottoman eras." Plants used for dyes, aromatic plants hung as a necklace and baskets for herbs are included in the collection.
The selection of objects on display in the garden of the Agricultural Museum include various flowers, plants and seeds which were used to make perfumes and medication as well as other objects made from plants and plant fibres. A tour around the "Pharaonic garden" of the Agricultural Museum is designed to enlighten visitors about several species of plant and flower -- which have continued to grow in Egypt's stable climate for many thousands of years.
In France the exhibitions in Paris and Marseilles are entitled "Parfums et fards dans l'Egypte antique" and will last from 5 April to 15 June.
"Never before has a series of exhibitions in Egypt and abroad been devoted to a single industry, which has resulted in such a wide range of artistic and utilitarian objects," said Egypt's Culture Minister Farouk Hosni.
With the focus on children as well as adults, it seems that Egypt's perfumes and cosmetics, simultaneously exhibited at several museums, is set to take the public by storm.
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