Collection
Exquisite art objects that quietly diffuse scents.
ANCIENT PORTRAIT
Fragrance diffusing sculpture
(Variable unique portraits. Romanian stone, Mount Athos myrrh oil; aprox. 110 x 40cm, cca. 25kg; 30ml, glass, silk)
This sculptural fragment returns to a historical moment in which the human figure was central to philosophical inquiry and aesthetic thought. It comes with a vessel containing myrrh oil sourced from Mount Athos. When applied over the sculpture, the porous stone absorbs the fragrance and gradually releases it, transforming the art piece into a silent diffuser.
CROWN PILLOW
Fragrance diffusing pillow
(Silk velvet, silver thread, cotton lining, dried herbs and flowers from Romanian monastery, incense, Ruschita marble powder; 60 x 60cm, aprox. 5kg)
This velvet pillow bears a suggestive indentation as if a crown had rested upon it over time. Referencing ceremonial or museum display cushions, it becomes a meditation on sovereignty, rest, and impermanence. Filled with dried aromatic herbs and flowers collected by monks in Romania, the pillow carries scent as a historic presence.
SHELL
Holy Water font
(Variable shapes. Romanian stone, aprox. diam. 40cm, ~4kg; 100ml glass blottle, Holy Water, Romanian monastery)
The shell, shaped by an unseen underwater world, evokes both distance and depth. Its form recalls ecclesiastical fonts designed to hold Holy water. Accompanied by water drawn from a Romanian monastery, the object situates itself between nature and ritual, suggesting containment and the persistence of the sacred within organic forms.
BAS-RELIEF
Fragrant relief
(Plaster, woodboard, solid wood frame, oils and resin; variable dimensions)
Referencing ancient Roman baths, this art object bears the archeological patina while perfuming the room with a clean herbarium scent. Infused with aromatic resin produced at a Mount Athos monastery, the work responds to air movement, releasing scent intermittently. An encounter activated by proximity.
THE HANDS
Stone and bronze sculpture holding Papier d’Arménie
(Romanian stone, bronze cast, Papier d'Arménie; variable dimensions)
These fragmented hands, rendered in stone and bronze, adopt a gesture derived from spiritual iconography. They symbolize transmission. Held by them is a strip of Papier d’Arménie, the 19th-century densley perfumed paper known for burning without flame. The paper functions as a message, activating the sculpture through heat.
ARTICHOKE
Incense and paper burner
(Ceramic, musk incense and/or Papier d'Armenie; ~30 cm, approx. 1,5kg)
The artichoke, traditionally associated with peace and inwardness, here becomes an object of layered meaning. Its structure encloses a hollow core, allowing it to function as an incense or Papier d’Arménie burner. Fragrance emerges discreetly, reinforcing the symbolism of concealment, protection, and the slow revelation of an interior life.
PNEUMA
Air Purifying Sculpture
(Cretaceous limestone from Romania and Moonstone limestone powder from Swiss Alps)
Carved from calcareous stone, Pneuma functions as an atmospheric instrument that absorbs other high note scents in the room. Unlike other Maria de Mangop artworks, this one captures smells through its porous surface and mineral structure, transforming purification into a spatial experience.
AMBER GLOVES
Perfumed Gloves
(Silk, silver thread, perfume)
A study in perfumed touch and fragrant gesture. Inspired by the scented gloves once carried through royal courts and private interiors in since the 17th century, this personal object is the only piece in the current collection that is meant to be worn and carried from a place to another.
PARTITION
Room Divider
(5 panels, Carpathian hardwood, oil paint, gold leaf, silver, mother-of-pearl; approx. 220cm long, 190cm high)
The partition object functions simultaneously as spatial divider and protective surface. Created from hardwood and handpainted with gold, silver, and mother-of-pearl, it draws its ornamental vocabulary from the Romanian fota, a traditional embroidered apron worn by women. Privacy, ornament, and defense converge in an object that shields while revealing itself.
Fragrance diffusing books
THE BOOK
Fragrance diffusing book
(Paper, vegan leather, silk thread; cca. 30cm x 20cm)
The book’s blank pages are steeped in perfume. Held open by a sculptural hand, it releases scent as if it were a text: quietly, gradually, through air and time. An object of wonder where fragrance becomes the story.