Culture Through Objects: INCENSE ART

The fuming of incenses is a sacred ancient practice, a form of art, helping us to re-unite mind, body and soul through a blissful harmony enveloping with each inhale. Sufi master Hazrat Inayat Khan used to say that our prayers ascend to God faster while incense fumes are rising.  He advised to inhale aromatic herbs and oils to create a sublime mood the would lead to spiritual harmony and unity with the Divine Spirit...

{...rose flowers were processed to give rose oil and rose water /Gulab/. Since very old times, rose oil has been used as a perfume and remedy to relieve a headache if rubbed into temples, and rose water was used in ablutions, including sacred ones, and helped to cure poor digestion and heart problems...}

{...dried in shadow, rose petals were finely ground and mixed with a special, light kind of clay; and then, with a pestle and mortar, it was converted into aromatic soap...} {...fragrance infusions, balms, lotions and perfumes were kept in tightly sealed glass flasks that preserved aromas for a very long time...}
The flasks found in Azerbaijan are dated first centuries of the Common Era

{...Üzerlik plant was used to remove the evil eye curse: a handful of crushed stems, leaves and seeds a few times pulled up over and around the head was then thrown into fire...} 
{...fragrant incenses were kept in special, ornamented ceramic and porcelain flasks...}

 {...Dried seeds of zosima plant, called in Azerbaijan Atıl-Batıl, contain fragrant essential oils. This plant was burned to turn away the evil eye, aromatize and disinfect rooms...}

All images and accompanying text are from Baku magazine
Photography: Dmitry Livshits
Styling: Dilyara Muradova