The Qatar America Institute for Culture (QAIC) has opened a Perfumery Museum / interactive exhibit inside their headquarters in Washington, DC.

Upon entering the space, visitors are briefly introduced to the history of fragrance followed by a curated display of vintage perfume bottles from fashion houses such as Guerlain and Lanvin. On loan by Qatar-based antiquities collector, Reem Abu Issa, these ornately designed bottles provide insight into the aesthetic complexity of perfumery branding dating back to the start of the 20th century. Going back further in time, visitors also learn about several traditional objects still used today for fragrance in the Middle East, whether at special occasions or around the home, like the oud-infused incense bukhoor that's burned inside a diffuser called a mabkhara.

In the center of the chamber sits a table adorned with numbered glass apothecary jars, each containing scented strips with mystery fragrances like myrrh or saffron for guests to identify using only their noses and the references around them for clues. One such reference is the large Fragrance Wheel presiding over the space, a device developed by renowned fragrance expert Michael Edwards for classifying the 14 various fragrance families used in perfumes as part of his work with Fragrances of the World (a partner on QAIC's Perfumery Museum project).

The museum can be visited by appointment; more information here.

(via qataramerica.org)