I’m often amazed, shocked, confused or amused by perfume advertising. For instance, Parfum d’Empire’s Eau de Gloire pays homage to the great warmonger-plunderer-egomaniac Napoléon Bonaparte; and its latest fragrance release, Fougère Bengale, celebrates the pompous tiger hunts of colonial India.
Before the early part of the 20th century, (truly glorious) Bengal tigers were not endangered; but even if you feel it was acceptable to slaughter hundreds, thousands, of magnificent animals for “sport” (or for body parts used in folk medicines), tiger hunts devastated local economies in India. As huge maharajah-led or British-sponsored hunting expeditions traveled through the Indian countryside — elephants, horses, carriages and marching men damaged farmlands and woodlands. To feed the large numbers of men, women and animals traveling in the procession, provisions and livestock were cheaply bought (or stolen outright) in villages along the route; the tiger-hunting parties often left hunger and poverty in their wake.
What’s next from Parfum d’Empire? Sherman’s March? “Savor the aromas of crumbling marble and smoking timbers, the animalic odor of raging horses…
