| Predynastic period | Early Dynastic | Old Kingdom | First Intermediate | Middle Kingdom | Second Intermediate | New Kingdom | Third Intermediate | Graeco-Roman period | Late period |
| Predynastic period | Early Dynastic | Old Kingdom | First Intermediate | Middle Kingdom | Second Intermediate | New Kingdom | Third Intermediate | Graeco-Roman period | Late period |
The Ancient Egyptians loved beautiful fragrances. They associated them with the gods and recognised their positive effect on health and well being. The god of perfume, Nefertum, was also a god of healing who was thought to have eased the suffering of the aging sun god Re with a bouquet of sacred lotus. Perfumes were applied as oil-based salves, while Incense was formed into small pellets and burned.
Egypt was the world leader in the creation of perfume and was closely associated with the international perfume trade. When Julius Caesar took control of Egypt, he demonstrated this fact to the Roman people by throwing bottles of precious perfume to the crowd during his triumphant return to Rome.
Some of the ingredients were home-grown, but many had to be imported. Hatshepsut recorded a trading expedition to Punt on the walls of her mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri. The expedition was a great success, delivering aromatic woods and spices for the creation of incense and perfume. This expedition was also a great public relations coup because the Egyptians favoured exotic imported fragrances like myrrh, frankincense, cinnamon, cassia and Galbanum. The Egyptians tried to establish their own frankincense trees, but this doesn´t seem to have been very successful. Wood was also in short supply in Egypt, and they were particularly fond of cedar wood from the Levant. Balsomon (probably Mecca balsam) can be found in southern Arabia and eastern Africa, and iris, lotus (water lily), lemongrass, and rose were also popular (although the lotus was rarely used in ritual perfumes and incense). They also seem to have used papyrus rind to created incense.
In Egyptian temples, incense was burned ritually every day. Some records suggest that they used frankincense in the morning, myrrh at middday and Kapet (kyphi) in the evening. In addition certain gods were associated with specific types of incense (for example, Hathor was strongly associated with myhrr) and certain types of incense were used for specific ceremonies. Kapet (or kyphi) was one of the most popular varieties and seems to have been in use since the Old Kingdom. As well as its pleasing scent, it was thought to heal snake bites and cure bad breath and asthma. One recipe for this incense was recorded in the Ebers Papyrus (c. 1500BCE)
Ihmut incense, sonter incense (both from Punt) and green incense (thought to be based on galbanum from Persia) are listed in records from the reign of Thutmose III, and priests during the reign of Ramessess III recorded both white incense (probably based on frankincense) and "inflammable incense" in a list of offerings.
There is also a type of incense known as jb (referred to on the Stela of Sekerkhabau from Saqqara). The name was written using the hieroglyph for kid (a young male goat) leading some to suggest that it was based on musk.
The most highly prized perfumes of the ancient world came from Egypt and the most famous brands were comparable to Channel No5 or the like in terms of their value. Of these, arguably the most popular were Susinum (a perfume based on lily, myrrh, cinnamon) Cyprinum (based upon henna, cardamom, cinnamon, myrrh and southernwood) or Mendesian (myrrh and cassia with assorted gums and resins). Mendesian was named after the ancient city of Mendes, and although the perfume was produced in other locations at a later date, the best variety was still thought to be that from Mendes.
They also loved Stakte, a perfume with a fairly stronge aroma of myrrh and a scent simply known as "the Egyptian" which seems to have been based on cinnamon and myrrh with sweet wine. Perfumes were generally stored in beautiful alabaster bottles, but there is also some evidence that blue glass bottles may also have been used.
