Aromatic Landscape

Up in the snowy reaches of the Himalayan mountains lives the diminutive,fanged musk deer, whose scent glands—situated unfortunately in its nether regions—have allowed generations of Chinese and Tibetan housewives to aromatically terrify flying pests, heal family illnesses, and bolster the brain. Used to perfume the capacious skirts of women in the Hindu Kush, the aromatic that eventually came to be known simply as “musk” was witnessed, consumed (as a flavoring for meat),and eventually purloined by the world’s greatest fabulist, Marco Polo. Through Afghanistan musk arrivedinSaudi Arabia, where the young wife Aisha perfumedher beloved Prophet with it. Architectsinspired by Islamic heaven, where musk mixed with saffron make up the floors,builtmosques with musk in the mortar. When the sun beat upon them, the holy aroma wasemitted from the very walls.

About the Contributor

Saskia Wilson-Brown is a producer and curator for visual art and film. In 2012 she created the Institute for Art and Olfaction (IAO), a nonprofit devoted to experimentation and access in perfumery. Through the IAO she has launched projects with the Pulitzer Foundation, Getty Research Institute, Danish Film Institute, and more. In 2013 she launched the Art and Olfaction Awards, an international awards mechanism for independent perfumers. She currently teaches at the Royal College of Art in London.