Description
Avicenna
In the 10th century AD, a prolific Persian polymath named Ibn Sina or
“Avicenna“ to the Europeans, created a way to extract aromatic compounds
from plant material. Today, this system of extraction is known as steam
distillation. One of the plants that he first distilled was the infamous
Rose x Damascena or Damask Rose. By steam distilling the rose petals, he
was able to obtain two by-products, an essential oil and rose water. The
concentrated oil was used to make attars and to treat health conditions and
the rose water had a wide array of uses from culinary to scenting fountains
of palaces and mosques. This led to the Persians exporting rose water along
other commodities such as fine textiles and carpets to as far away as India
and China in exchange for exotic woods, spices, and porcelain.
Olfactory Group: Amber Floral
Rose Absolute, Pink Pepper, Ceylon Cinnamon, Vanilla and Benzoin
