Zignago Vetro at the heart of Venice’s perfume history

6,000 years of perfumes were on display until November 30 in Venice, at the Palazzo Mocenigo museum. Full Beauty Suppliers was invited.
The exhibition, organized in collaboration with the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia, was the result of a partnership between Mavive Parfums and Italian glassmaker Zignago Vetro, with support from Givaudan and the University of Padua.
“In this project,” explains Biagio Costantini, CEO of Zignago Vetro, "the thousand-year history of perfume is intertwined in an extraordinary way with that of its container, glass, which has always been the material par excellence for preserving perfumes. It is fascinating to see how glass, from its origins in antiquity to modern production, continues to tell a story of innovation and beauty, showing the evolution of our relationship with perfume through the centuries. In this exhibition, art meets an industry that proves capable of giving shape to creativity and beauty."

More than 500 bottles tracing over six millennia of olfactory culture, linked by the common thread “perfume may fade, but the bottle preserves the memory,” were on display in Venice at the Palazzo Mocenigo Museum.
Through a chronological timeline with a strong scenographic impact, visitors discovered more than five hundred bottles, preserved like treasures under glass bells, retracing more than six thousand years of olfactory culture. The original artifacts were accompanied by contemporary recreations of seven historic perfumes created from the original formulas by perfumer Givaudan.
The museum tour of the Portego, coordinated by the scientific director of the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia, Chiara Squarcina, and the museum’s curator, Luigi Zanini, and entrusted to professors Monica Baggio, Barbara Savy and Massimo Vidale of the University of Padua, as well as Marco Vidal, CEO of Mavive and co-curator of the perfume exhibition at the Palazzo Mocenigo museum, wound its way through different chronological sections divided into thirty-two exhibition modules ranging from ancient Egypt to the modern industry.
The common thread linking the entire exhibition had a specific message: “the perfume may fade, but the bottle preserves the memory.” This is reflected in the diversity of shapes, the multiplicity of materials, and the traces of time that allow us to read six thousand years of human creativity. From ancient Egypt to contemporary brands, perfume has accompanied all aspects of life, from the sacred to the profane, from medicinal remedies to cosmetic gestures, and the exhibition reveals its evolution. Extremely rare objects, from ointment jars to Meissen porcelain bottles, 19th-century goldsmithing masterpieces, and post-war industrial containers, tell the story of how perfumery reflects the civilizations that produced it.
Perfume bottle collections are rare throughout the world. The current important collection, known as the Storp collection, dates back to 1911, the year the Drom company was founded. Over time, Bruno Storp (grandfather of Dr. Ferdinand and Dr. Andreas Storp) and his wife Dora, both passionate about perfume bottles, created one of the most beautiful and important collections ever seen, covering all periods from antiquity to the present day. By 1921, Dora Storp had managed to accumulate a vast range of perfume bottles. In 1967, Ursula Storp (mother of Dr. Ferdinand and Dr. Andreas Storp) took over the collection and devoted her life to maintaining and enriching it. Today, the collection comprises more than 3,000 rare pieces, some of which date back nearly 6,000 years. The pieces on display provide an exceptional testimony to the refined art of perfumery through the centuries.

An exceptional exhibition!

For the first time, the majestic Storp collection, preserved at the Mocenigo Palace Museum thanks to an agreement between the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia and the Storp family, was presented to trace a chronological arc as vast as it is coherent, offering the public a unique journey through humanity’s aesthetic and olfactory memory.
The journey through the history of perfume began in the Salle Blanche, on the ground floor of the Palazzo Mocenigo museum, with an immersive video mapping by Zignago Vetro, which represented the modern chapter of the chronology and anticipated the ancient part of the rest of the exhibition.
This opening moment immersed the public in a synesthetic experience, guiding them through evocative projections and soundscapes, from the heat of modern production to the millennial history of glass, that “liquid stone” that has always preserved perfumes and memories.
Visitors were thus offered an evocative narrative in which sight and hearing merged, restoring the poetry and power of glass, the par excellence container for perfumes.
“The section devoted to the history of perfume,” emphasizes Chiara Squarcina, scientific director of the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia, "was a new opportunity for the Fondazione Musei Civici to recount the intense link between the invisible accessory—perfume—and the aesthetic virtuosity of the skilled hands that have created the bottles for these precious essences over the centuries. Today, we read history through these incredible creations, which reflect different contexts and are the result of countless artistic, social, and economic influences. It was therefore an opportunity to admire the precious specimens in the Storp collection, which we thank for its generous concession."

A perfect parallel with Venice

“What is fascinating about these treasures enclosed in perfume bottles,” explains Ferdinand Storp, collector and owner of the Storp collection, "is that even today they tell the same story that their contents once told. The perfume may have evaporated hundreds of years ago on the velvety skin of a beautiful woman, but by looking at the bottle, we can still imagine its story, a perfect parallel with Venice, where every building, every street corner, and every stone has a story and a past to tell."
“My dream,” insists Marco Vidal, CEO of Mavive S.p.A., "was to create a chronological exhibition tracing more than 6,000 years of perfume history to show that cosmetics have always been at the heart of men and women’s lives. We have achieved this thanks to the extraordinary Storp collection and the essential collaboration of the Fondazione Musei Civici. This allows us to affirm that perfumery is a cultural and anthropological fact, but also an increasingly important sector for the Italian and European economy.“
”Givaudan,“ concludes Maurizio Volpi, President of Fragrance & Beauty, Givaudan, ”recognizes the importance of traditions in this industry, as they reflect the richness and diversity of our olfactory heritage. This exhibition showcased our expertise through a selection of iconic recipes, allowing visitors to rediscover forgotten fragrances with extraordinary authenticity. The collaboration on this exceptional project also highlighted the importance of the history of perfumery, while celebrating the art of fragrance in all its splendor and creativity."