The Ancient Trade Routes sampler pack highlights all 5 of our current perfumes in either 5ml or 10ml decants.
 
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
 
Notes: Rose Absolute, Pink Pepper, Ceylon Cinnamon, Vanilla and Benzoin
 
TEA ROAD
 
In 1727 the Treaty of Kyakhta was signed by negotiators Sava Vladislavić of Imperial Russia and Tulišen of the Qing Empire of China. The treaty regulated diplomatic and trade relations between the two empires and created the tea road which stretched all the way from Peking through the Gobi desert and the Siberian Taiga to St. Petersburg in western Russia. Horse and camel caravans carrying wooden crates filled with Chinese black tea were traded for Russian fur and leather. During the long and treacherous journey, campfires were lit to stay warm and unintentionally contributed to the subtle smoke aroma of the black tea.
 
Olfactory Group: Amber Woody
 
Notes: Black Tea, Leather, Musk, Bergamot, Smoke, Woods
 
HOI AN
 
In the early 17th century, Nguyen Hoang of the powerful Nguyen clan established great trade relations with Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu of Japan. The Nguyen lords of southern Vietnam were heavily involved in trade and as a result, the trading port of Hoi An flourished and became the most important trade port on the South China sea. Japanese red seal ships frequented the Vietnamese port and with them brought silver, copper and bronze from Japan in exchange for spices, sandalwood and Vietnamese agarwood. The metals trade was vital to the Nguyen lords, for they needed coins for commerce and bronze to cast guns. And, in turn the exotic Vietnamese spices and precious woods were sought-after in Japan and were used to make incense.
 
Olfactory Group: Woody Aquatic
 
Notes: Agarwood, Sea Notes, Musk, Sandalwood and Patchouli
 
AMBRA IMPERIA
 
During the 1st-3rd centuries AD the Roman Empire ensured that fossilized amber was once again prized and fashionable as it was once during the bronze age. Amber was imported, as before, from the Baltic Sea via the rivers of Germania. But unlike the bronze age, the tribes in the region were no longer trading only the raw material but the actual finished pieces of art, which were sold at a much higher price. Back in Rome, amber was not only used in fine jewelry but was also used to decorate public spaces like amphitheaters and even gladiators' clothes and weapons. This newly established trade route stretched from the Baltic Sea to Aquileia on the Adriatic coast and is known today as the Amber Road. The Romans in return supplied the tribes with gold and silver coins, glass and possibly exotics spices and woods from far reaches of the world.
 
Olfactory Group: Amber Woody
 
Notes: Apple, Honey, Cinnamon, Amber and Sandalwood
 
GERRHA
 
Somewhere on the Persian Gulf coast in ancient Arabia there once existed the ancient city of Gerrha. The bustling trading post attracted merchants from all over the world. It was one of the most important points on the Incense trade route, which was a network of ancient sea and land trading routes that stretched from Mediterranean ports across Egypt and Levant through the Northeastern parts of Africa and Arabia to India. In Gerrha, merchants traded exotic goods coming from India like sandalwood, silk, and spices with regionally produced frankincense and myrrh and goods from Northeastern Africa like Gold and Somali incense. By the second century AD, trade in the region had completely died out due to expansion of alternate trade routes and trade methods, and with it the ancient city of Gerrha was once again reclaimed by the desert sands, never to be found again.
 
Olfactory Group: Amber Spicy
 
Notes: Cardamom, Nutmeg, Incense, Amber and Sandalwood