The Mystification of Spices in the Western Tradition

Abstract

The oriental spices that so dazzlingly performed in the early modern economy were mysti ed in the sense that, from being rare, valuable and of as yet unspeci ed provenance, these objects were raised within the western phenomenological scheme beyond the commonplace and ascribed marvellous properties. This was part of the mysti cation of the East, a time-worn conception of western society inherited from the rst expeditions of Alexander the Great, which created an enduring and formative legend of oriental luxury, abundance, and exuberance that the medieval penchant for marvels (Mirabilia) conveniently appropriated. Spices too were mysti ed through the medium of biblical literature and speci cally through associations with the terrestrial paradise, which was a place much debated by cosmographers until the seventeenth century. This paper concentrates on the process of mysti cation rather than its projection, and suggests that it constituted a self-conscious aesthetic-if held within certain imaginative bounds-even when confronted by empirical knowledge. I conclude with a critical discussion of quite how marvellous the marvellous must have seemed to its audience, and posit it somewhere between the mythical and legendary horizons of that society.

The peregrinations of porcelain

“…This culture was fascinated with rare and precious materials, stories and narratives of the provenance and circulation of luxury items and thus connected to diplomatic and mercantile activities. 61 The increased interest in collecting such luxury objects might have been novel for Europeans, but it was not so for Eastern rulers. Indeed, foreign courtsfrom the Mamluks and Ottomans in the Mediterranean, to the Aq Qoyunlu and the Timurids of Central Asia and Persia to the rich empires in India and China -had collections that certainly outshone those of Europe.…”

‘Profits sprout like tropical plants’: a fresh look at what went wrong with the Eurasian spice tradec. 1550–1800

“…I have sought elsewhere to demonstrate that spices were indeed a mystified product in the consciousness of mediaeval men and women. 111 We can appreciate this from the valuable accoutrements that often accompanied these spices, as well as the mythical properties and origins invented for these products. Late mediaeval readers would be obliged to turn to Books of Marvel or Fable to inform themselves about spices; they were not typically entered into herbaria alongside other commonplace plants.…”

“…111 We can appreciate this from the valuable accoutrements that often accompanied these spices, as well as the mythical properties and origins invented for these products. 111 We can appreciate this from the valuable accoutrements that often accompanied these spices, as well as the mythical properties and origins invented for these products.…”