Venice Exhibition Explores 6,000 Years of Perfume and Glass Art Across Africa, Egypt, and Europe

From May 21 to November 30, 2025, the Museum of Palazzo Mocenigo in Venice presents “Journey Through the History of Perfume. Storp Collection”—an immersive exhibition that traces the evolution of perfume culture from Ancient Egypt to today. This landmark show offers a rare glimpse into 6,000 years of olfactory tradition and design innovation through over 500 exquisite perfume bottles from the renowned Storp Collection, many of which are being displayed for the first time.

Hosted at the Museum’s Center for the Study of the History of Textile, Costume, and Perfume, the exhibition is promoted by Mavive Parfums and Zignago Vetro, with support from fragrance house Givaudan and in collaboration with the University of Padua’s Department of Cultural Heritage. The curatorial team includes scholars Monica Baggio, Barbara Savy, and Massimo Vidale, alongside Marco Vidal, Managing Director of Mavive.

Thirty-two themed modules, arranged in chronological order, lead visitors through a sensory timeline of global perfume history—from sacred Egyptian ointments and Roman glass flacons to 19th-century goldsmith containers and post-WWII industrial designs. The show is accompanied by seven historically recreated scents, crafted by Givaudan using original formulas.

As Chiara Squarcina, Scientific Director of the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia, explains, perfume serves as both aesthetic expression and cultural artifact. “This is not just about scent—it’s a reflection of social, artistic, and economic histories,” she notes.

Housed under elegant glass domes, the pieces offer a rare visual narrative of human creativity and olfactory memory. “Perfume may fade, but the bottle preserves the memory,” is the exhibition’s guiding message. From Ancient African rituals to modern European perfumery, each object on display connects past civilizations through a shared sensory legacy.

The Storp Collection, founded in 1911 by Bruno and Dora Storp and later curated by their descendants, is now considered one of the most comprehensive perfume bottle collections in the world, with over 3,000 pieces. Ferdinand Storp, its current steward, reflects: “Though the scents may have vanished, the bottles still speak—much like Venice itself, where every stone tells a story.”

Visitors begin their journey in the museum’s immersive “White Room,” where videomapping projections introduce the final chapter of this olfactory timeline before leading guests back to its origins.

“This project unites the ancient craft of perfume with the art of glassmaking,” says Biagio Costantini, CEO of Zignago Vetro. “It’s a story of beauty, innovation, and enduring human desire.”

Source: finestresullarte.info