Dana, Kali, 'Goddess Kali', 30 ml. or 1 oz. Flacon, Parfum Extrait, 1933, Paris, France ..

'Les Parfums de Dana' was established in Barcelona in 1921 by Javier Serra, the former director of Myrurgia of Spain. The company then moved to Paris in 1932 at 9 rue de la Paix. The company was named after the Greek goddess Danae and this idea was incorporated into the Dana logo, which consisted of a beautiful woman's head, taken from a sculpture by Mariano Andreu.

Kali was launched in 1933, although I have researched that the name ‘Kali’ was tradmarked in 1952. There is a little confusion about the launch date. Kali comes from the Sanskrit root word Kal which means ‘time'. There is nothing that escapes the all-consuming march of time! Kali is a goddess with many characteristics, but she does encompass the passage of life and death, mothering and sexuality. It is the sensual quality of Kali that is captured in this scent, and it can be described as oriental, animalic and gourmand.

An animalic scent is warm, rich, and one that creates an aura of lived-in things "skin scents", giving off sexiness .. sexiness in the sense of actually making you think about sex. What is it about overt sexuality that is so compelling, be it a manifestation in a feminine or a masculine fragrance interchanged between the sexes. What is it about smell which brings us to our more primitive level when the instinct of procreation, the instinct of sexual desire, the desire for life is conquering even the omnipresent fear of death? This is the message of Kali!

In perfumery, animal notes were traditionally rendered through deer musk, castoreum, ambergris and civet cats, but nowadays, ethical concerns for these animals' welfare have rendered their use obsolete and the substitution with synthetic variants a rule. Only ambergris is by its nature cruelty-free, being naturally expelled by the sperm whale itself in the ocean, but it's a very rare and expensive ingredient for most commercial use, so synthetics replicating its aroma are the standard practice. Some plants, such as Angelica and Ambrette Seeds, also produce animalic-smelling compounds that replicate musk.

The resinous notes here describe a mix of resins such as amber, frankincense, myrrh and benzoin, which produce a warm, sweetish and very deep scent .. most often in the "Oriental" family,

So what might be in this glorious and long forgotten perfume!

Top notes are Neroli, Rose, Jasmine, Ylang Ylang, and Angelica
Heart notes are Vanilla, Benzoin, Peru Balsam, Leather and Amber
Base notes are Sandalwood, Ambergris, Frankincense, Myrrh, Birch, and Styrax

Offered here is a beautiful and very rare black glass bottle of Kali, housed in its original box. Highly collectible, and a must for Dana perfume lovers! I have only seen one another in all my years .. so precious! Box is a little bent, showing signs of age. Label has some imperfections at the corner .. Priceless .. Sounds full when shaken .. I actually have two of these amazing rare bottles, the other one is just in a little better shape cosmetically, but still as full ..