7.5 ml / 0.25 fl oz. travel spray. Portable, convenient and practical.
More
- Louis XIV was dubbed the ‘sweetest smelling monarch’ during his reign. To satisfy his particular love of orange blossom he imported thousands of orange trees from Spain, Italy, and Portugal and had his architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart expand the largest ever Orangery in Europe. During his reign, it was fashionable among nobles to offer their own citrus and fruit trees to complement the King’s collection.
- A true genius of architecture, the name of Jules Hardouin-Mansart is attached to the most grandiose architectural achievements of Louis XIV’s reign. At Versailles, he designed among others the Hall of Mirrors, the North and South wings, the Cent-Marches staircases, the Royal Chapel, the Grand Trianon and of course, the Grand Orangery.
- The Orangery, by its monumentality and the purity of its lines, is one of the places where Hardouin-Mansart best asserted his talent. Facing south, it’s protected from the cold of the prevailing winds by its position under the Parterre du Midi. Orange, lemon and other and citrus trees, as well as oleanders, palm and even pomegranate trees have been protected for over 200 years within its monumental galleries.
- Hardouin-Mansart doubled the length and width of the first orangery built by Louis Le Vau in 1663, to make it the immense building preserved today. The central gallery is over 150 meters long and its vault culminates at 13 meters high. It was built under the ‘Italian model”, that is, in stone, with walls 4 to 5 meters thick, double glazing of the bays and a Southern exposure to maintain warmer temperatures even in winter.
- To preserve the heat and trick the trees into blossoming earlier, the gardeners lit bonfires, mixing the warm scent of burning woods with the orange, lemon, and honey-like fragrance. To enhance the ambience even further, small bird-shaped ornaments known as Oiselets de Chypre, would be produced out of a fragrant paste and hung from tree branches.
- Another famous scented preparation that would have enhanced the ambiance was the Pommade de Florence, a popular concoction made of Florentine iris, fashionable with the French ladies and greatly appreciated by the King.
-Louis’ own signature scent, ‘Acqua Angeli’ (L’Eau d’Ange), consisted of a mixture of nutmeg, clove, and other resins boiled in rose water. Jasmine, orange blossom and a few grains of musk were added for his shirts to be rinsed in the sweetly scented water.
Bio
- Spawforth, Tony, “Versailles: A Biography of a Palace”, St. Martin’s Griffin, New York, 2010.
- Mitford, Nancy, “The Sun King: Louis XIV at Versailles”, The New York Review of Books, New York, 1967
- Lablaude, Pierre-André, “La Restauration des Croisées Monumentales de l’Orangerie”, Monumental 2005, Revue Scientifique et Technique des Monuments Historiques, Centre des Monuments Nationaux, Monum, Editions du Patrimoine, Paris, 2005.
- Laszlo, Pierre, “Citrus: A History”, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2008.
- Saudan, Sylvia and Michel, “Orangeries: Palaces of Glass : Their History and Development”, Evergreen, 1994.
– Breton, Guy, “Histoires d’Amour de l’Historie de France”, Tome Quatre, Editions Noir et Blanc, 8 Rue Lincoln, Paris, 1964.
– Genders, Roy, “Perfume through the Ages”, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, New York, 1972.
– Groom, Nigel, “The New Perfume Handbook”, Chapman & Hall, London, 1997.
– Hyde, Elizabeth, “Cultivated Power: Flowers, Culture, and Politics in the Reign of Louis XIV”, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 2005.
- Baumel, Jean, “Publicité d’un maître apothicaire -parfumeur au XVIIème siècle”. Montpellier en 1668, Editions C.G.C. et la Grande Revue, 37 Rue de Constantinople, Paris, 1974.
