Silphium was a plant widely renowned as a spice, medicinal herb and perfume ingredient throughout the empires of classical antiquity, outshining both saffron and cinnamon. It was praised by Greek philosophers and writers, as well as Roman emperors and cookbook authors. The demand for Silphium eventually became so overwhelming that it was harvested to extinction, and the taste and smell of the once greatest spice in the world were lost in time.
This extinct plant was reconstructed by researching assumed relatives of Silphium, using aromachemicals (the molecular building blocks of scents) to create an accord reflecting historical descriptions. This is set against a background of ancient incense, woods and leather.
All about this fragrance
Vibe check
This suits a close, low-lit setting where the air feels dry and textured rather than soft: a coat collar, a wool scarf, a room with old wood and faint smoke. It gives off a composed, slightly austere presence with a strange green edge underneath the spice.
How to wear
Best in cool weather, where its pepper, clove and resinous smoke can unfold without feeling dense. A light application is enough; on skin it reads dry and spicy, while in the air the incense and leather lend a more shadowed, antique feel. In heat, use sparingly.
Who it’s for
For wearers who like aromatic fragrances with a historical, resinous twist: peppery, smoky, slightly green and not too polished. It will appeal to people drawn to niche compositions, incense, tobacco and leather, especially if they prefer character over sweetness.
Release year
2017
The nose
Tomas Hempel and Olle Hemmendorff. As co-founders of Stora Skuggan, they work in the brand’s highly hands-on, concept-led style, shaping fragrances as complete olfactory worlds rather than conventional compositions. Silphium reflects that approach: research-driven, material-conscious, and built with a deliberately unusual balance of history, myth and modern perfumery craft.
Collaborators
Tomas Hempel and Olle Hemmendorff developed the fragrance together with the Stora Skuggan team, effectively working as a single creative unit to translate the silphium concept into scent. Their collaboration shaped both the formula and the broader narrative, from the reconstructed accord to the ancient incense, woods and leather framework around it.
Stora Skuggan’s story
Stora Skuggan is a Stockholm house built on independent formulation, small-batch production and strong conceptual storytelling. Its perfumes draw on myth, history and natural phenomena, but the brand pairs that imagination with a pragmatic respect for quality materials, including synthetics when they serve sustainability and the final scent.
Silphium’s concept
Silphium is inspired by the extinct plant of classical antiquity, once prized as a spice, medicine and perfume ingredient before disappearing from cultivation and memory. Stora Skuggan reconstructed its scent through research into related plants and aromachemicals, then set the accord against incense, woods and leather to evoke an ancient, lost material culture.
Extra info
Silphium is based on an extinct plant from Cyrene, in present-day Libya, once so valued in antiquity that it became part of legend. The fragrance was the brand’s second release and was a finalist for the 2018 Art and Olfaction Awards.
Silphium was a plant widely renowned as a spice, medicinal herb and perfume ingredient throughout the empires of classical antiquity, outshining both saffron and cinnamon. It was praised by Greek philosophers and writers, as well as Roman emperors and cookbook authors. The demand for Silphium eventually became so overwhelming that it was harvested to extinction, and the taste and smell of the once greatest spice in the world were lost in time.
This extinct plant was reconstructed by researching assumed relatives of Silphium, using aromachemicals (the molecular building blocks of scents) to create an accord reflecting historical descriptions. This is set against a background of ancient incense, woods and leather.
All about this fragrance
Vibe check
This suits a close, low-lit setting where the air feels dry and textured rather than soft: a coat collar, a wool scarf, a room with old wood and faint smoke. It gives off a composed, slightly austere presence with a strange green edge underneath the spice.
How to wear
Best in cool weather, where its pepper, clove and resinous smoke can unfold without feeling dense. A light application is enough; on skin it reads dry and spicy, while in the air the incense and leather lend a more shadowed, antique feel. In heat, use sparingly.
Who it’s for
For wearers who like aromatic fragrances with a historical, resinous twist: peppery, smoky, slightly green and not too polished. It will appeal to people drawn to niche compositions, incense, tobacco and leather, especially if they prefer character over sweetness.
Release year
2017
The nose
Tomas Hempel and Olle Hemmendorff. As co-founders of Stora Skuggan, they work in the brand’s highly hands-on, concept-led style, shaping fragrances as complete olfactory worlds rather than conventional compositions. Silphium reflects that approach: research-driven, material-conscious, and built with a deliberately unusual balance of history, myth and modern perfumery craft.
Collaborators
Tomas Hempel and Olle Hemmendorff developed the fragrance together with the Stora Skuggan team, effectively working as a single creative unit to translate the silphium concept into scent. Their collaboration shaped both the formula and the broader narrative, from the reconstructed accord to the ancient incense, woods and leather framework around it.
Stora Skuggan’s story
Stora Skuggan is a Stockholm house built on independent formulation, small-batch production and strong conceptual storytelling. Its perfumes draw on myth, history and natural phenomena, but the brand pairs that imagination with a pragmatic respect for quality materials, including synthetics when they serve sustainability and the final scent.
Silphium’s concept
Silphium is inspired by the extinct plant of classical antiquity, once prized as a spice, medicine and perfume ingredient before disappearing from cultivation and memory. Stora Skuggan reconstructed its scent through research into related plants and aromachemicals, then set the accord against incense, woods and leather to evoke an ancient, lost material culture.
Extra info
Silphium is based on an extinct plant from Cyrene, in present-day Libya, once so valued in antiquity that it became part of legend. The fragrance was the brand’s second release and was a finalist for the 2018 Art and Olfaction Awards.