At the heart of the exhibition is the experimental reconstruction and modern interpretation of the perfume of Tappūtī-Bēlat-Ekalle, as recorded in KAR 220, a cuneiform tablet housed at the Vorderasiatisches Museum in Berlin. This tablet contains the oldest known recipe for an infused oil “fit for a king.” The exhibition presents the methods used in the experimental replication of the ancient formula, along with the historical context and cultural legacy of perfume-making that began in ancient Iraq.

— Read more about the exhibit, opening next week at the Palazzo Poggi in Bologna, in The First Perfume: Tappūtī and the History of Scents at Bologna Welcome. (And see also: Tappūtī-Bēlet-ekallim, The Oldest Perfumer on Record at World Sensorium.)