The British Society of Perfumers and the British Society of Flavourists are celebrating World Taste & Smell Day with this joint event.

During this talk art and scent historian Caro Verbeek will dive into a topic that is at the intersection of flavour and smell: the unique history of perfumed banquets from antiquity to the 20th century. The ancient Romans knew that we do not merely perceive scents with our noses (orthonasally), but also with our mouths (retronasally).

Not only were fragrances diffused ambiently during banquets, tables and floors rubbed with spices and flowers, but liquid perfumes and flowers were even consumed for a full experience. This forgotten practice was rekindled by a group of artists named the 'Futurists'. They used electric fans and even air plane propellers to distribute smells during extravagant dinner parties. They had a special interest in another fascinating phenomenon: smell-synaesthesia. Whereas most scientists and artists only study colour to sound-synaesthesia, this group of creatives actually tried to translate perfumes to colourful shapes and 'artificial flowers'.

RESERVE YOUR SEAT HERE.

PLEASE NOTE: This webinar is going to be interactive, so attendees are kindly requested to bring samples, for their own use, of the following essential oils: Rosemary, Damask Rose, Cinnamon (or Clove, Pepper or Elemi), Peppermint (or Eucalyptus or Anise) and Neroli.

Presenter introduction

Dr. Caro Verbeek (1980) is known internationally for her embodied and sensory endeavours to (re)construct (art) history, for example by her TEDx-talk 'Inhaling the Past, Smelling the Future'. She concluded her PhD "In Search of Lost Smells" on smell and futurism and olfactory museology in 2020, has been teaching on and through the senses for 15 years, and has lectured and published widely on olfactory history.

Her adage is: You see more when you smell.