Myrurgia - The Art of Perfume Part II

by: Afonso Oliveira

Afonso Oliveira is the international vice president of a growing collective of collectors that focus on the design of perfume bottles: the International Perfume Bottle Association (IPBA). After our interview where he explained what IPBA stands for and after showing us some of the treasures from his collection, I invited him to share with Fragrantica an article he wrote about the Spanish brand Myrurgia, published in IPBA's magazine Perfume Bottle Quarterly. - Miguel Matos

This is the second part of an article dedicated to the history of the Spanish brandMyrurgia and the exploration of some of the most important vintage editions of the house. Please read the FIRST PART OF THE ARTICLE HERE.

Within the collection of the Myrurgia brand, one can find certain cities and neighborhoods of Spain featured in: Suspiro de Granada (Sigh of Granada), Embrujo de Sevilla (Spell of Seville) and Sol de Triana (Sun of Triana). The majority of the remaining fragrances all use flower names. Maja was inspired by the dancing of Tórtola Valencia and her figure became the distinctive image of Maja. Again we have the appeal of Spanish patriotism.

One of the most original perfume bottle presentations is the one for Suspiro de Granada. I believe this creation was inspired by the red hats of the Granada folk costumes. This bottle was designed by Julian Viard and made by Depinoix in 1922. The label on the box was designed by Eduard Jener. The bottle is protected by a red bakelite container, hand painted with flowers and with two red and two black pom-poms. The black glass bottle has a gold rope finishing wound up around the neck and a ball shaped stopper decorated with gold motifs.

Orgia was launched in 1922 and shown here are two Portuguese advertisements from 1927. Translated into English the name would be Orgy.... it's doubtful this name would be used in today's world, or is it?

Flor de Blason was launched in 1925 as a male fragrance and was very popular in the North American market. The label is gold and blue and based on heraldic motifs.

In 1929, Esteve Monegal ordered Spanish architect Antonio Puig Gairalt to design a new factory due to the success of the brand and its need to expand. Several Spanish artists were involved in this project.

Embrujo de Sevilla dates from 1933 and this particular bottle is an extract. The bottle is made of clear crystal, painted in gold and finished with a gold colored stopper. The gold label represents a Seville lady with her fan, "peiñeta" (a large tortoise shell or colored comb, used to hold up a mantilla) and a large hoop skirt which was at the height of fashion in the 1600's.

Joya was introduced in 1950 and means Bijou, a small dainty jewel that is highly prized. The extract comes in a crystal bottle shaped like a jewel. After the Spanish Civil War, in the 1950’s and 1960’s, Myrurgia was Spain’s leading perfume house withGal being their chief competitor. In July of 2000, Myrurgia became part of the Puig Beauty & Fashion Group. Puig is a 3rd generation fashion and fragrance family business located in Barcelona, Spain.

All the bottles shown belong to the collection of Afonso Oliveira.