Itr or attar always reminds me of summers when Amma would dab khus itr on the inside of her wrists, on the pulse points, or winters when she would use shamama. Those were the days when perfumes and scents had not invaded Indian markets.
The word itr – عطر which means perfume, fragrance; essence; ottar (or otto) of roses is of Arabic origin.
Al- Kindi (b 801) talks of a 107 recipes and methods for deriving itr from flowers in his book Kitab Kimiya’ al-‘Itr (Book of the Chemistry of Perfume. It contains 107 recipes for fragrant oils, salves, aromatic waters and substitutes or imitations of costly drugs.
Another early mention of the techniques and methods used to produce essential oils is believed to be that of Ibn al-Baitar (1188–1248), an Al-Andalusian physician, pharmacist and chemist.
Ibn Al-Baitar wrote a pharmaceutical encyclopedia named Kitāb Al-jāmiʿ fi-mufradāt al-adwiya wa alaghdhiya. He identified both how essential oils were made and what they could be used for.
The first to derive itr of flowers from distillation was Ibn-e Sina known as Avicenna. (Studies in Islamic Civilization: The Muslim Contribution to the Renaissance By Ahmed Essa, Othman Ali)
He is said to have experimented with the rose of thousand petals
Damascus, Iran and Andalusia were the main centers of perfume making. Later the trade in itr extended to India and China.
Ni’matnama a book written in 1500 for the Sultan of Mandu has advice on distilling rosewater, and recipes for incense, deodorants and fragrant salves.
In Tuzuk-e Jahangiri, Jahangir describes an itr e Jahangiri ( rose itr) and says that it was discovered by Nur Jahan ‘s mother Asmat Begum.
Perfumes were present in ancient India which has a rich history of perfumery and aromatic scents extracted from plants & flowers. Aromas were extracted from plants and were given as offerings in religious ceremonies.
Itrdan container for itr
silver itrdan inherited
It has two side containers for sandal/ sindoor and Kumkum/ afshan. [ Married Muslim women fill the maang with sandal instead of sindoor in India]
Glass itrdan from Egypt
