This project is led by UCL Institute for Sustainable Heritage (ISH)
Project team
Dr Cecilia Bembibre Jacobo, Lecturer in Sustainable Heritage
Emma Schmuecker, National Trust
Lucy Porten, National Trust
Dr William Tullett, Senior Lecturer in Early Modern History at University of York (advisor)
Simon Niedenthal, Associate Professor/Professor at Malmö University (advisor)
Dates
June 2026 - February 2027
Overview
FORTUNA is a heritage science research project exploring the olfactory and material dimensions of a historic perfume game from the National Trust collections. The project investigates how smell functioned as part of the object’s original use, and how its sensory qualities can be studied and interpreted today.
Fortuna’s Perfume Roulette is a historic game consisting of a circular cardboard box containing small glass vials, some of which still hold traces of scented liquids. The vials are sealed with cork stoppers and labelled with fragrance names, accompanied by small fruit-shaped elements made of wax or dough. While it appears to have been designed to engage players with smell, the exact rules and mode of play are not known.
The Challenge
Smell is an important but often overlooked aspect of cultural heritage. While many historic objects were originally experienced through multiple senses, their olfactory dimensions are rarely preserved or studied.
Research led by the UCL Institute for Sustainable Heritage’s Olfactory Heritage Group has been at the forefront of addressing this gap, developing approaches that combine scientific analysis with sensory and historical methods to study historic odours. FORTUNA builds on this work through the investigation of an object designed specifically around olfactory experience.
Our Approach
The project aims to:
- Investigate the significance of the perfumes within the historic game.
- Identify and interpret surviving traces of fragrance
- Explore how chemical and sensory methods can be combined in heritage research
- Contribute to approaches for studying olfactory heritage
FORTUNA adopts an interdisciplinary approach, combining chemical analysis, sensory evaluation, and historical research to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the object and its sensory significance.
Why this matters
FORTUNA will advance understanding of historic scented artefacts and games by examining the role and significance of perfumes within their use and meaning. It will contribute methods for analysing and interpreting smell as part of cultural heritage. The project will also support future research and conservation approaches for objects with olfactory dimensions.
Funders and partners
The project is developed in collaboration with the National Trust.
The research is funded through the E-RIHS ERIC First Call for Access.