Flask, 1600-1700
Museum number: 1267-1872
Europe
1600-1815, Room 5, The Friends of the V&A Gallery, case CA2
Victoria & Albert Museum, London
I have always loved scents, especially those associated with the East like sandalwood, musk and jasmine. Just a faint whiff of a spicy fragrance transports me to distant places and I see myself on a camel gliding through the desert sands, passing caravans en route to sell their wares, the men with their blue/black faces and their white turbaned heads adding to the air of mystery...
It is with this image in mind that I viewed the small
wooden perfume bottle located in the section of the gallery celebrating The
Rise of France 1600-1720 at the V&A European Gallery 1600-1815.
This pocket-sized
flask was made in Germany (artist unknown) from
finely carved boxwood with intricate "Green Man" decorative motifs at its base intended to evoque Nature.
The bottle
stopper might have been made by a different craftsman from different material
and is possibly not the original. It represents a turbaned male African head,
symbolically guarding "exotic scents" from faraway and enigmatic lands...
The head stopper presents a strong image, possibly protecting a strong, musky, fragrance. Could this be a scent strong enough to enhance virility and beguile a lady?
Perfume was a luxury of the "perfumed" French Court of Louis XIV. I can certainly envisage a nobleman or a wealthy subject hiding this flask in one of his many pockets... What do you think?
The head stopper presents a strong image, possibly protecting a strong, musky, fragrance. Could this be a scent strong enough to enhance virility and beguile a lady?
Perfume was a luxury of the "perfumed" French Court of Louis XIV. I can certainly envisage a nobleman or a wealthy subject hiding this flask in one of his many pockets... What do you think?
Joy Johnson,
V&A Guide, African Heritage Tours
