Parfums d’Orient: book

Institut du Monde Arabe

Parfums d’Orient: the catalogue

Published on Jan 8, 2024

The wonderful exhibition Parfums d’Orient, in the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris, came with its very own publication. The book, too, is called Parfums d’Orient, and it is as beautiful as the exhibition itself.

Ancient stone incense burner from the Arab Peninsula

Parfums d’Orient: the catalogue

The book presents 26 essays by renowned authors. The essays are grouped into four main parts: natural resources for perfumes, the art of perfuming oneself, fragrance and the invisible world, and fragrance in and around the house. As such, the catalogue follows the design of the exhibition and paints a complete picture of the world of fragrance.

The book starts out with an introduction of fragrance. How does it affect our mood? Why is it important to have around us? And how does our sense of smell actually work? A series of essays sets the scene to understand the role of fragrance in our personal lives, and the cultural interconnectivity that perfumes from the Middle East represent.

Parfums d’Orient: the bounty of nature

The first essays are devoted to ingredients and perfume history. I enjoyed the beautifully illustrated essays on Damascene rose, oud, ambergris and musk. The historical background explains how scented paths crossed, resulting in the familiar fragrances of today, while the essay on the perfumer’s art sheds light on both the past and the future of perfuming.

Parfums d’Orient: perfuming oneself

The second part explores the realm of science and history. Here, we learn of medieval manuscripts with perfume recipes, the trade in incense and the beautifully designed perfume flasks. An exploration into the bath house reveals the use of fragrance in relation to health and well-being.

I really liked the personal point of view on perfuming in the essay on perfume and art: imagine, indeed, losing your sense of smell as a result of the pandemic. Suddenly, the world becomes one-dimensional and plain; fragrance is of greater importance than we might think.

Parfums d’Orient: fragrance and the invisible world

Now this is one of my favourite angles, and if you have taken my course Scents of the Middle East, you’ll have seen why! Fragrance itself is like an invisible power that may affect our happiness and sense of wellbeing. This part of the catalogue addresses that supernatural capacity of scent throughout the ages.

Ancient Egypt, early Christianity and Judaism as well as Islam have their own spiritual connotations with fragrance, and these are explored in separate essays. The special essay on fumigations and magic is short, but fascinating!

Parfums d’Orient: perfume in and around the house

And this is where the jewellery is….! Scented paste and fragrant beads are shown in relation to the intimacy of marriage, adding yet another layer to the meanings perfume may carry. That extends to perfuming one’s guests and spicing dishes, both of which are discussed, too.

Parfums d’Orient: art, research, history, science

The catalogue is beautifully illustrated, showing you everything from ancient artefacts to modern art, from sweeping landscape views to medieval manuscripts. What I really loved about this book is that it seamlessly integrates the historical and cultural background of fragrance with art and lived experiences. As such, it really conveys the importance of the senses for our everyday existence. Fragrance is part and parcel of every aspect of life, and the exhibition catalogue absolutely brings that point across.

Parfums d’Orient. By Hanna Boghanim and Agnes Carayon (eds) (2023). 223 pages, full-colour, in French. Published by Institut du Monde Arabe/Skira.

Available with the publisher and in the museum shop of the Institut du Monde Arabe.

I purchased the book in the museum shop of the Institut du Monde Arabe upon my visit of the exhibition.

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Explore the world of fragrance in the course Scents of the Middle East!

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Sigrid van Roode

Sigrid van Roode is an archeologist, ethnographer and jewellery historian. Her main field of expertise is jewellery from North Africa and Southwest Asia, as well as archaeological and archaeological revival jewellery. She has authored several books on jewellery. Sigrid has lectured for the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, Turquoise Mountain Jordan, and many others. She provides consultancy and research on jewellery collections for both museums and private collections, teaches courses and curates exhibitions. She is not involved in the business of buying and selling jewellery, and focuses on research, knowledge production, and education only.

Jewellery Museum Pforzheim

by Sigrid van Roode | Museums & Exhibitions

new perspectives

A visit to the Jewellery Museum, Pforzheim

The Jewellery Museum (Schmuckmuseum) in Pforzheim, Germany, is a must visit destination for anyone interested in jewellery and jewellery history. Here is what I saw during my last visit!

Bedouin Silver | Pforzheim Schmuckmuseum

Sigrid van Roode looking at the waterfall of jewellery in the Schmuckmuseum, Pforzheim

Bedouin Silver | Sigrid in Schmuckmuseum

View into the exposition room filled with rings in the Schmuckmuseum, Pforzheim

Bedouin Silver | Pforzheim Ring Room

Four stunning rings from the collection of the Schmuckmuseum, Pforzheim, against a black backround.

Bedouin Silver | Pforzheim ring selection

The museum houses a vast collection of jewellery, both from Europe and from other parts of the world. That jewellery is something that connects us, and expresses shared values, is highlighted in the room ‘What Is Jewellery?’. I featured an in-depth exploration of this theme by the museum in this blog, and seeing it for myself was a treat!

In this room (you’ll see an impression in the gallery of images above), the first thing that caught my eye was a sparkling waterfall of gold and gold-tinted jewellery cascading down from the ceiling in the central showcase. Jewellery from all eras and geographical locations is presented here in a seeming jumble that still is perfectly harmonious. As you can see by the slightly bewildered look on my face in the second photo, I enjoyed spending time peering into this showcase from all its sides, there is so much to see here! There is a sense of joy and playfulness in this installment that I believe is really important, too, in between the more serious aspects of jewellery history: just enjoying jewellery, simply for its own sake.

That same combination of jewellery from different times and places continues throughout the room. In every showcase, a different topic is highlighted that is shared by multiple cultures. The use of specific colours for example, or the values attached to jewellery, or the protective capacities it holds, or the social status it communicates. You’ll find jewellery here from North Africa, Oceania, Central Asia, India, Tibet, Nepal and other places combined with European jewellery. It is a multidisciplinary and integrated approach to what jewellery means to the society that used and created it, and I found it very valuable to start out my visit to the museum by pondering what jewellery is, exactly: it gets one thinking and provides context for the other collections.

Next were two rooms filled with jewellery history, from the Classical world until the revival pieces of the 19^th century, and everything in between. I stayed here for a considerable time, because the museum boasts a formidable collection of historic rings, and these are shown here, too. Hundreds of them! If you have a thing for rings, this is the space for you. They are neatly organized in separate showcases, that each present a selection of rings in chronological and geographical order. You’ll see what that looks like in the third photo above. I did not really notice how brilliant this display was until I was done: because the rings are displayed in so many showcases, it feels like peeking into yet another treasure chest. Each showcase has just the right amount of rings, too: you’ll be able to enjoy them instead of reaching that point of overwhelm. I can’t recall having admired hundreds of rings and still being eager to see more: well done in terms of managing the attention span of visitors!

But there is more than rings: the showcases along the walls present necklaces, bracelets, earrings, tiaras and so much more, also in chronological order. A separate section with pocket watches brings jewellery and technique together, but I must admit that I spent most of my time with the jewellery exposition. The quality of the pieces shown here is also breathtaking: I created a collage of a few rings in the last photo above, to give you an idea of what awaits you. The exhibition continues with a bright, large room dedicated to more recent jewellery. Here, I saw dreamy, delicate Art Nouveau jewellery and modern jewellery creations: the art of jewellery craftmanship is still very much alive in Pforzheim.

After all that, it was time for a coffee in the pleasant museum café and perusing the well-stocked bookshop. I really like the themed publications such as Landscapes in Jewellery, Animal Myths in Jewellery, and Sun, Moon and Stars in Jewellery, but of course there is much more (see the bookshop here – the list of publications can be downloaded), and you will be able to find many jewellery pieces and other gifts.

I highly recommend visiting the Schmuckmuseum if you have the opportunity: with several temporary exhibitions every year, there is sure to be something that is of interest to you. The signage is bilingual in both English and German. Also check out the online magazine Melting Pot: lots of thought-provoking and interesting jewellery articles!

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Schmuckmuseum, Pforzheim, Germany: see practical info on their website (using the toggle in the upper right corner, you can set the language to German, English or French).

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More museum recommendations on personal adornment from North Africa & Southwest Asia? Browse them all here!

Looking for tips on collecting and caring for your collection? Find everything you need here!

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Sigrid van Roode

Glanz und Geheimnis

by Sigrid van Roode | Museums & Exhibitions

a stunning private collection

Glanz und Geheimnis

A hidden gem: the exhibition of traditional silver jewellery and dress from the wonderful collection of Swiss collector Peter Hösli is on show in the Knauf Museum, Iphofen, until November 2023. I had the opportunity to visit this beautiful exhibition – so many rare pieces that I had to return for a second visit!

A stunning treasure of silver and beaded jewellery from North Africa and the Middle East.

Bedouin Silver | Glanz und Geheimnis

Omani necklace from the collection of Peter Hoesli

Glanz und Geheimnis | Oman

Yemeni necklace from the collection of Peter Hoesli

Glanz und Geheimnis | Yemen

Palestinian chin-chain from the collection of Peter Hoesli

Glanz und Geheimnis | Palestine

Bedouin dresses in the exhibition Glanz und Geheimnis

Glanz und Geheimnis | Bedouin dresses

First, what is the Knauf Museum? This is the museum that the Knauf family (if you have ever done home renovation, you have used their products) has founded in their hometown of Iphofen in Germany. Its permanent exhibition shows plaster casts of many famous archaeological sites and artworks from the Classical world, South America, Asia, and ancient Egypt. And in the newly added wing, the museum hosts a variety of temporary exhibitions on a wide range of cultural topics. This year, that topic is silver jewellery from the Arab Peninsula and the Levant, so I had to see this: lots of Bedouin jewellery, and much more!

The accompanying book was already a delight (see more about that here), but seeing these pieces in person and being able to observe every detail was, of course, even better. The exhibition is spread over two floors, and I loved the sight of a magnificent dress of as-Salt, Jordan, greeting me in the bright and airy conservatory between the new and the old wing. It circled gently, allowing visitors to admire its detail on every floor, and I personally thought this one of the best ways I have ever seen such a dress displayed. In case you don’t know what I’m talking about: these dresses are huge!

The jewellery pieces themselves were even more beautiful in real life. Polished to a shine, they were placed either lying down or mounted on mannequin heads. The showcases were spacious and accommodated the jewellery well, with each piece allocated enough ‘breathing space’ to be admired without being spread too thin. The only truly incomprehensible thing about the exhibition is the designers’ choice of background colour for the jewellery: detailed and delicate silver pieces become near invisible against the variegated grey background they were placed on. Instead of an even, contrasting colour, this melée of grey made dainty filigree and granulation very hard to see. A background colour for silver does not even have to be black…but I implore anyone thinking about a jewellery exhibition to just not use variegated grey. The jewellery deserves better.

And especially this jewellery, because like I wrote in the book review, you are in for a treat if you have a chance to see this exhibition. It shows many rare pieces that are impossible to find, such as Najd hair ornaments strung on a strip of cotton, superb filigree work from Yemen, and Palestinian ‘iznaq chin chains that made me gasp. The addition of dresses adds colour and life to the showrooms: several beautifully embroidered Bedouin gowns from Tiraz collection and a number of dresses from Peter’s own collection illustrated how adornment goes beyond just jewellery. And I really enjoyed seeing the small cotton pouches attached to Saudi women’s dresses, that once were filled with aromatics such as oudh…such a wonderful way of perfuming oneself.

In addition to the jewellery itself, a short film explained the various techniques of silversmithing in the Levant. This was curated by Salua Qidan of both Tiraz centre and Folkglory Designs. Seeing the jewellery made lifted something of the inevitable static nature of any exhibition, and I found this to be a very valuable addition to the exhibition itself. In the same room where the film could be watched, several fully dressed and adorned mannequins brought jewellery and dress together, and I loved seeing how the two interact.

If you are in the area, or have a possibility of traveling there, you should absolutely go see this exhibition!

Glanz und Geheimnis/Shine and Mystery

Knauf Museum, Iphofen, Germany

March 26 – November 5, 2023

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More museum recommendations on personal adornment from North Africa & Southwest Asia? Browse them all here!

Want to learn more about the world of Bedouin jewellery from Saudi Arabia, and traditional silver jewelry from the Middle East and North Africa as a whole? Check out the online courses!

Looking for tips on collecting and caring for your collection? Find everything you need here!

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Sigrid van Roode

Shine & Mystery

by Sigrid van Roode | Reviews

a stunning private collection

Shine & Mystery

A long-awaited book: the personal collection of Swiss collector and traveler Peter Hösli features in the exhibition Shine & Mystery in the Knauf Museum in Iphofen, Germany, and with the exhibition comes a wonderful catalogue on jewellery from Southwest Asia. And you’re in for a treat!

Bedouin Silver | Shine and Mystery

Page from the book Shine & Mystery, showing jewellery from the Levant

Shine & Mystery | Levant

Page from the book Shine & Mystery, showing jewellery from Saudi Arabia

Shine & Mystery | Saudi Arabia

Page from the book Shine & Mystery, showing silver and gold jewellery from Oman

Shine & Mystery | Oman

Page from the book Shine & Mystery, showing jewellery from Yemen

Shine & Mystery | Yemen

First, about the title. I usually don’t care much for exoticizing words such as ‘mystery’ in the context of jewellery from Southwest Asia, but there might be a very good reason in this case. After all, the original title of both exhibition and book are in German: Glanz und Geheimnis. Although the title is not explained, I immediately associated it with a previous exhibition, in Cologne, called Pracht und Geheimnis. This has been one of the most influential exhibitions and its accompanying publication is still one of the main reference books for dress and adornment from Palestine and Jordan. It presented the collection of dress and jewellery of Widad Kawar of Tiraz Centre. Tiraz has generously lent costume and dress to this exhibition, too, and so in my mind the dots were easily connected. [1]

Shine & Mystery starts out with a portrait of the collector, Peter Hösli. This is incredibly important: to get the know the person behind a collection. In the short biography we learn how his focus as a collector is on unusual, upper class pieces, more modest middle class pieces as well as on repaired pieces. That last aspect is often overlooked, but it is here we learn of woman’s preferences and choices over the course of her life. And that is indeed what the focal points of the collection should be, according to Peter: they should be a testament to arts and culture, provide an insight in the history of a region or country, and share not only the skill of the silversmith but also the personal stories of the people that wore these items. With these parameters, this stunning collection has been carefully built over the years.

But: those histories and personal stories is not what this book focuses on. Instead, it presents a unique and important angle that I feel should be brought to the forefront more often, and that is the history of collecting itself. In each chapter, Peter shares his own experiences buying jewellery, as well as stories and snapshots of his life traveling and living in the region. I absolutely loved this personal approach, as the aims and goals of the collector and the circumstances of collecting have a profound effect on the collection itself: what is included, what is excluded, and why? An example is the memory of an Omani headdress, which turned out to be way too expensive to purchase at that time (p. 100-101): by including his tales about ‘the ones that got away’, the author shows us how collecting is a constant process of not only selecting and choosing, offer and demand, but also other factors. That places the pieces in this catalogue in a context that is rarely seen, and to me absolutely enhances the value of this book even more. It is like traveling together and looking over the shoulder of the collector.

So what do we see, when we look over the shoulder of the collector? Shine & Mystery presents four chapters, each devoted to a region or country. These are Saudi Arabia, the Levant, Oman and Yemen, each preceded by a personal introduction. And in these chapters, the most wonderful jewellery items are presented in bright, crisp photographs. For each item, a small fact-sheet is included with its name (and where possible its vernacular name), its origin, weight and dimensions, its age and a short description. In these descriptions is a wealth of information about the jewellery pieces and their use: we learn of Najd-headdresses featuring in poems, an inscription against the evil eye, but also highly relevant historic facts such as changing borders. We are accustomed to borders as they are today, and only too often do inhabitants of either side of a border claim a certain jewellery style as their own: a bare fact like a border changing in 1926 (p. 21) forces us to see jewellery on a long term-scale. It’s details like these that are so often left out, and I’m very happy to see them included here.

The jewellery items themselves are just breathtaking, and a testimony to the eye of the collector. I loved the coloured glass and plastic beads on a silver Omani necklace (p. 119), the fragment of a choker necklace repurposed on a headband from Jordan (p. 62), the breathtaking skills of the silversmiths creating these jewels and so much more. The clear, bright photographs really do these pieces justice and the atmospheric close-ups of details bring them to life: I could gaze over the images in this book for hours! There are a few instances where only a detail of a jewel is photographed, not the complete piece, so you need to know what you’re looking at. [2]

The design of the book is carried out with great care and attention to detail. Each section is colour-coded with the colours running off the page, so you see neat blocks of colour on the lower side of the book as well. At the end of the catalogue you’ll find a useful glossary of terms and a bibliography. As this is not so much a book about jewellery history, but a personal catalogue, the bibliography is very brief: there are no references throughout the volume. The only drawback is that it contains Wikipedia-references on topics on which actual literature is abundantly available, including online sources – I must admit this choice surprised me, given the absolute quality of the collection presented.

My advice to you would be straightforward: do not hesitate and buy this book before it is out of print. This catalogue is a very relevant addition to any collector’s or curator’s bookshelf. It contains many rare and outstanding pieces of jewellery that you will not see elsewhere, and the personal experiences with collecting jewellery in the countries of origin themselves are incredibly important to increase our understanding of how these objects are valued and handled. A must-have publication of an incredible collection!

Shine & Mystery. The splendour and power of oriental jewellery. Edited by Markus Mergenthaler, 2023

Full colour, hardback, 191 pages, available in German and in English. Published by Nunnerich-Asmus Verlag and Knauf Museum, Iphofen.

Available with the publisher: click here for the English edition and click here for the German edition.

For orders outside of Europe: you can write to the publisher for a quotation of shipping costs, or alternatively order on Amazon.

Follow Peter Hösli’s amazing Instagram-account here for more jewellery beauty!

The book was received as review copy from the publisher.

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More book recommendations on personal adornment from North Africa & Southwest Asia? Browse them all here!

Looking for tips on collecting and caring for your collection? Find everything you need here!

Never miss out when a must-have book appears? Join the Jewellery List and get regular updates in your inbox!

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References

[1] Volger, G. (red) 1987. Pracht und Geheimnis. Kleidung und Schmuck aus Palastina und Jordanien, Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum, Koln. The catalogue Shine & Mystery of this review does not include the dresses of Tiraz, they feature in the exhibition only. The fact that the exhibition is in German shimmers through in the book on occasion: the chapters Saudi-Arabia and Levant have both German and English titles, and the front cover and title pages have a spelling error in the title ‘mystery’. None of this diminishes this book in any way.

[2] Such as on page 23, 25, 66, 82

Sigrid van Roode

Across Asia

by Sigrid van Roode | Reviews

the walters art museum

Across Asia and the Islamic World

At the heart of human history is interconnectivity. People, and as a result their cultures, have always been in contact, and the result of those connections are visible in material culture. The Walters Art Museum is kicking off a new series of publications focusing on their collections, and the first volume Across Asia and the Islamic World illustrates the interconnectivity on the Asian continent.

Across Asia and the Islamic World

Across Asia and the Islamic World accompanies the installation of the new gallery Arts of Asia and the Islamic World. In the new gallery, visitors can experience the many cultural expressions from this vast continent in one space, and more importantly, see how they are all interrelated. That interconnectivity is also the focus of the book. As it is expressed in the foreword: ‘Movement is an intrinsic part of the life of most art objects.’ (p. 6). This simple statement is such an incredibly important notion, yet it is one that is often overlooked. We are somehow used to objects being static, in their movement but also in their identity.

The first essay in the book explores that notion in fascinating detail, using objects from the collection. On the first page of that essay, we travel along with a Qur’an made in India, moving to Istanbul a century later, and now on display in Baltimore. In each of its locations, it held significance and had a role to play. A jade chime from China, used at the court to instill heavenly harmony on earth, also reflects conquest and colonization (p. 17-18), and in a similar manner, this essay presents a variety of objects that each hold several stories. This is an essay that gets you thinking on how there is so much more to ‘a teapot from China’ if we actively start considering its biography. I appreciated in particular that the essay ends with a note on how further research continues to shed light on these complex, often tangled layers of identity and history in a single object.

The second essay explores spiritual and social movement as expressed by objects. An example is a jar with a carp swimming in a lotus pond. (Fig. 8) Nothing remarkable at first sight if you’re (like me) not a connoisseur of Chinese art, but the carp swimming upstream reflects the impossibility in Chinese society for people to move up on the social ladder: the desire to ‘make it’ is so very relatable today. This particular vase has an even deeper meaning, but instead of bringing you more spoilers here, I recommend you read this book yourself! The essay continues to compare and analyze objects associated with spiritual movement: in a person, through meditation and prayer, but also in the visible act of processions and pilgrimage.

The third and last essay delves into movement across the continent: of people, goods and ideas. I really enjoyed the introduction to this chapter, presenting a Chinese statue of a camel (Fig. 18): the most important animal in caravans, but originally an ‘import’ to China itself. Portable objects, like jewellery or personal amulets, show the length and width of traveling ideas: a Buddhist locket in Japan, a tiny Qur’an from sub-Sahara Africa. Paper, a Chinese invention, was used for fans but also changed the world of book production forever, and I loved how the essay ends with a copy the famous Book of Navigation by Piri Reis. This 17^th century map ties the entire book together: expansion and imperialism, travel and exploration, techniques and trade, forms and ideas permeate the history of Asia and the Islamic world in a continuous perpetuum mobile.

This may be a small book with its 64 pages, but it covers so much ground. The map on pages 8 and 9 allows you to take in the scale of the geographical region presented in the book. The many photographs are beautiful and a joy to see. And what these photos and essays leave you with is a new understanding of looking at historic objects: as material output of cultures continuously on the move. That is of course not a groundbreaking new insight itself, but the way this book has made it its central theme results in a presentation of the collection highlighting its cultural and historic interrelatedness, instead of segmenting it according to contemporary countries and their respective histories. I’m looking forward to the future publications in this series!

Across Asia and the Islamic World. Edited by Adriana Proser, 2023.

Full colour, 64 pages, in English. Published by GILES in association with The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore

The book was received as review copy from the publisher.

More book recommendations on personal adornment and archaeology…? Click here to see my other picks for you!

Sigrid van Roode

Sigrid van Roode is an archeologist, ethnographer and jewellery historian. She considers jewellery heritage and a historic source. She has authored several books on jewellery from North Africa and Southwest Asia, and on archaeological jewellery. Sigrid has lectured for the Society of Jewellery Historians, the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden and the Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center, among many others. She curates exhibitions and teaches online courses on jewellery from North Africa & Southwest Asia.

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