KRISS AND DAWAMESK — THE SAME FRAGRANCE The extreme rarity of Jacques Guerlains 1942 perfume Kriss is most likely due to the fact that it cast a serious stain on Guerlains reputation. For the same reason, we wont find it mentioned in Guerlains history booklets, but several reliable sources are able to shed light on this obscure case. The perfume reportedly was created for the Nazis and named after a stabbing weapon called kris, a dagger with a wavy blade originating from Southeast Asia. This kind of dagger, in a modified form which incorporated several examples of Nazi symbolism, was a standard accessory issued to all members of the elite and greatly-feared SS. European colonists often used the spelling kriss for this weapon. Spelled with -ss, we get some very sinister and malevolent associations, considering the time in which this perfume debuted. According to research by Will Inrig from the Osmothèque, rumours spread of Jacques Guerlains alleged collaboration as the war drew to a close, and Kriss was quickly withdrawn. It appears that the perfume was relaunched at the end of the war under the new name Dawamesk, but with the fragrance formula unchanged, a sweet, musky floriental, slightly fruity and mossy. Both Kriss and Dawamesk came in the same bottle as Coque dOr (which Guerlain reissues this year), as well as in the quadrilobe bottle and also the so-called war bottle. The name Dawamesk refers to a hashish jam, a greenish preserve made of hashish, pistachio, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, sugar, orange juice and butter. In the 1840s, lots of dawamesk was eaten at the Club des Hashischins, a Parisian group dedicated to the exploration of drug-induced experiences. Members included famous French writers like Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas, Charles Baudelaire and Honoré de Balzac. According to Will Inrigs findings, it is thought that Jacques Guerlain himself used hashish, at the time when the collaboration rumours spread and he fell into a depression. He was already devastated by the fact that his youngest son had been fatally wounded in combat. Whether he took hashish in the form of dawamesk is unknown, as is the eventual link to calling his perfume Dawamesk. Find more Guerlain articles below.
Posted on: Tue, 02 Dec 2014 20:00:00 +0000
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