Sharaf un-Nisa's perfume bottle made of mother of pearl and silver. Perfume or ‘Atr holder with urn-shaped body composed of mother of pearl and silver, with what looks like a hand-made chain and stopper also made of silver. While the perfume holder does not stand up easily, it has a small round foot, .5 inches in diameter with a distinctive four-petalled floral imprint that could be a maker’s mark. Welding the two halves of mother of pearl together is a ridge of what looks like a braided pattern with regular finial shapes, each marked with their own finial mark. The design looks like some rosewater sprinklers.
Atr, or a Persian term for perfume, starting in the 17th century primarily refers to perfume made from the essential oil of roses. An essential oil captures the 'essence' of a plant's fragrance and typically captured via distillation. The production of rose oil originated in Persia, and the oil is priced high due to its intensive production and low output. The process of distilling and extracting oils from flowers began with the Persian Muslim scholar Ibn Sina, and this process later spread to Europe where the first real perfumes were manufactured. Perfume became widely used during Elizabeth I's reign, during which she required public places to be sprayed with perfume to remove foul odors. However, it still remained more prevalent in the aristocracy or upper classes, and was a necessary accessory for upper class women. Whereas many bottles at the time were created in Chinoiserie style, it appears this was created via enameling. Its small size suggests it would have been designed to be carried in a handbag or even on a chain, for easy access to perfume whenever necessary.
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