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The idea of creating a conservatory for the botanical and floral heritage of the perfume industry in Grasse came about long ago.
Utility gardens, flower gardens, botanical collections that were in vogue in the nineteenth century, and scientific or test gardens like the one created by the manufacturers of the Grasse perfumery in 1920, contributed to the development of the culture of perfume.
Grasse peaked in the first part of the twentieth century, a period when many of the natural products processed by Grasse manufacturers were sourced locally. From the 1960s onwards, large international groups purchased the Grasse factories and their synthetic scents offered perfumers an increasingly rich and varied palette but the very attractive prices meant their success was often at the expense of natural products... and sometimes quality perfumes.
Rose centifolia, jasmine, tuberose, lavender, geranium, juniper, orange blossom etc; perfumes are born from plants, here or elsewhere. In the unique setting of the International Perfume Museum’s Gardens, visitors can discover and smell the species that have provided valuable raw materials for perfumery for centuries.
As part of its reopening in 2008, the museum wanted to create an alternative approach, paralleling the main exhibition and presenting an insight into the artistic world of perfumery It gave several internationally renowned contemporary artists carte blanche to develop some of the museum's interior and exterior spaces.
Asking questions of the visitor, emotionally stimulating and challenging them while complementing the museum's main theme, provides the exhibition with a genuine multi-sensory dimension.
It seems that it was in the Middle East, around 7000 BC when the first objects considered as perfume and cosmetics vases appeared. These civilisations employed various odorants, mainly resins widely used as early as 4000 BC in ritual fumigations in censers or incense burners, reserved for the gods and reserved for royal families.
Safeguarding a heritage
Founded in 1989, The International Perfume Museum, the only museum of its kind in the world, is located in the iconic town of Grasse, the birthplace of luxury perfumes of which France was the initiator. Dedicated to one of the most prestigious traditional French activities, the International Perfume Museum is a public institution labelled "Museum of France" allowing visitors to discover the history and uniqueness of the profession of manufacturers and large perfumery houses.