In the first century AD, Dioscorides wrote his Materia Medica. In it is the oldest known recipe for a pomander bead, which he recommends as an antidote to the smell of sweat and to use ground up in perfumes.

Our reconstruction copies his ingredients, quantities and method as closely as possible, pounding together rose petals, myrrh, nard (valerian in this interpretation), costus and orris root to give a paste which is modelled into beads and dried. The result is a dark bead with a subtly deep, smokey and incensey rose aroma. An excellent addition to a Roman display or as an addition to a pomander collection. When the scent eventually fades, break the beads up with a pestle and mortar to refresh the fragrance and add the powder to sweetbags.

Choose from one large or three small beads. If I need to make a fresh batch it will take about a week to dry these thoroughly, so do bear with me. Made to order. The way our order book is currently working, we open the shop approximately once a month for new commissions and shut it again once we have as many orders as we think we can realistically make over the next 4-6 weeks. Please be aware that your order may fall anywhere into that timescale. We'll always aim to be as prompt as we can.