Gum myrrh; aromatic gum found in the trunks of various Commiphora species, found in Easter equatorial Africa and Southern Arabia opposite to the East African Coast; large yellow-brown granules in plastic vial; oldest known perfumery material with a record of use going back 3700 years. Sample obtained from S.N. Kelkar perfumer. Odor described as “warm and balsamic, sweet and somewhat spicy-aromatic, sharp and pungent when fresh. the gum is collected in Arabia, Ethiopia, Somaliland and in parts of Sudan, the main shipping ports being Aden, Djibouti, Massawa and Port Soudan.
Donor:
M. B. Ichaporia and Mrs. M. B. Ichaporia
Collection place:
Mumbai (Bombay), Maharashtra State, India
Collector:
Niloufer Hirschmann Ichaporia
Collection date:
8/15/1972
Materials:
Myrrh
Object type:
ethnography
Function:
8.5 Multiple Utility
Accession date:
1972
Context of use:
Oldest known perfumery material with a record of use going back 3700 years. Sample obtained from S.N. Kelkar perfumer. Odor described as “warm and balsamic, sweet and somewhat spicy-aromatic, sharp and pungent when fresh. the gum is collected in Arabia, Ethiopia, Somaliland and in parts of Sudan, the main shipping ports being Aden, Djibouti, Massawa and Port Soudan.