# Pomander

**Pomme d’ambre*, “apple of amber”*

**Known today as.** A ball of fragrant paste, of ambergris, musk, civet, and spices, carried in a pierced case.

Kind: Compound

## What was it used for?

Carried and sniffed against foul air and the plague.

## What does modern science say?

A perfume; it was carried against infection in times of pestilence, or merely to mask bad smells.

## Pharmacognosy and toxicology

- **ambrein, muscone, civetone**: the odorous principles of ambergris, musk, and civet
- **labdanum, benzoin, storax**: the resins
- **cloves and cinnamon**: 

**Mechanism.** A ball of scents in a pierced case, held to the nose against the foul air that was believed to carry plague: it masked bad smells. Cipolla’s study of the Florentine health office shows the medicine of the time, intent on humours and pungent exhalations, coming tantalizingly close to the real sources of infection in dirt, rubbish, and effluent.

**Dose.** Not taken: it was hung by a lace and smelled.

**Standing.** An ornament, in cases of gold or silver; in the eighteenth century it was largely replaced by the vinaigrette box.

## What lore surrounds it?

Its name is its recipe: an apple of ambergris. See [Ambergris](https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/ambergris) and [Musk](https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/musk).

## Sources

- Partridge, J. (1573). *The Treasurie of Commodious Conceits, & Hidden Secrets*. London. Text Creation Partnership edition A68556, cap. xliij, “To make a Pomeamber.”
- Wikipedia contributors. “Pomander.” *Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia*. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomander (read 2 October 2026).
- Wikipedia contributors. “Ambergris.” *Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia*. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambergris (read 2 October 2026).
- Wikipedia contributors. “Muscone.” *Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia*. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscone (read 2 October 2026).
- Wikipedia contributors. “Civetone.” *Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia*. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civetone (read 2 October 2026).
- Cipolla, C. M. (1992). *Miasmas and Disease: Public Health and the Environment in the Pre-Industrial Age*. Yale University Press.

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*Pomander.* In *Materia Medica*, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1, revised 2026-10-03. The Thinking Press. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/pomander

Historical description, not medical advice.