Ambergris
Ambergris (
Ambra grisea,
Ambre gris,
ambergrease, or
grey amber) is a solid, waxy, flammable substance of a dull grey or blackish color, with the shades being variegated like
marble. It possesses a peculiar sweet, earthy odour not unlike
isopropyl alcohol. Now largely replaced by synthetics, it is occasionally still used as a
fixative in
perfumery.
Ambergris occurs as a
biliary concretion in the
intestines of the
sperm whale, and can be found floating upon the sea, on the sea-coast, or in the sand near the sea-coast. Because lumps of ambergris with embedded beaks of
giant squid have been found, scientists have theorized that the whale's intestine produces the substance as a means of facilitating the passage of hard, sharp objects that the whale might have inadvertently eaten. Ambergris can be found in the
Atlantic Ocean; on the coasts of
Brazil and
Madagascar; also on the coast of
Africa, of the
East Indies,
mainland China,
Japan,
Australia,
New Zealand and the
Molucca islands. However, most commercially collected ambergris came from the
Bahama Islands,
Providence Island, etc. It is also sometimes found in the
abdomens of
whales.
Ambergris is found in lumps of various shapes and sizes, weighing from ½
oz (14
g) to 100 or more
pounds (45 or more
kg). When initially expelled by the whale or removed from it, the fatty precursor of ambergris is pale white in colour (sometimes streaked with black), soft in consistency, with a strong fecal smell. Following months to years of
photo-degradation and
oxidation in the ocean, this precursor gradually hardens, developing a dark grey or black colour, a crusty and waxy texture, and a peculiar odour that is at once sweet, earthy, marine, and animalic. Its smell has been described by many as a vastly richer and smoother version of
isopropanol without its stinging harshness.
In this developed condition, ambergris has a
specific gravity ranging from 0.780 to 0.926. It melts at about 62
°C to a fatty, yellow resinous-like liquid; and at 100 °C it is volatilized into a white vapour. It is soluble in
ether, and in volatile and fixed oils. Ambergris is relatively unreactive to
acid. White crystals of a substance called
ambrein, which closely resembles
cholesterol, can be separated from ambergris by heating raw ambergris in alcohol then allowing the resulting solution to cool.
Historically, the primary commercial use of ambergris has been in
fragrance chemistry, although it has also been used for
medicinal and
flavoring purposes. Ambergris is one of the most important amber type odorants and is highly sought. However, it is difficult to get a consistent and reliable supply of high quality ambergris. Due to demand for ambergris and its high price, replacement compounds have been sought out by the fragrance industry and chemically
synthesized. The most important of these is
Ambrox, which has taken its place as the most widely used amber odorant in
perfume manufacture. The oldest and most commercially significant synthesis of Ambrox is from
sclareol (primarily extracted from
Clary sage), although syntheses have been devised from a variety of other
natural products, including
cis-abienol and
thujone. Procedures for the microbial production of Ambrox have also been devised.
Depending on its quality, raw ambergris fetches approximately USD$20 per gram. In the
United States, possession of any part of an endangered species — including ambergris that has washed ashore — is a violation of the
Endangered Species Act of 1978.
Literature
*
Alexander Pope observed, "Praise is like
ambergris; a little whiff of it, by snatches, is very agreeable; but when a man holds a whole lump of it to his nose, it is a stink and strikes you down."
Ambergris is also a fictional city, named for "the most secret and valued part of the whale", appearing in
Jeff Vandermeer's books
City of Saints and Madmen and
Shriek: An Afterword.
*Ambergris is mentioned in the conversations between Marcel and Claude LeFever in the
Tom Robbins book
Jitterbug Perfume.
*In
Miguel de Cervantes epic novel
Don Quixote, ambergris is frequently cited as a sweet smelling perfume, most often worn by the rich or noble. When Don Quixote, standing to Sancho Panza, suspects his squire of having recently relieved himself he cites his proof to Sancho saying "Because just now thou smellest stronger than ever, and not of ambergris".
*The word also appears in
Ezra Pound's poem
Portrait d'une Femme, and the
Andrew Marvell poem
Bermudas, set to music by Lee Hoiby in 1984.
*Chapter ninety-one of
Herman Melville's
Moby-Dick relates the extraction of ambergris from a dead sperm whale. In the next chapter, the narrator, Ishmael, in his typically associative, semi-scientific manner, discusses ambergris and its properties.
*During his sixth voyage
Sinbad the Sailor is shipwrecked and washes ashore in a land whose beaches are covered in
ambergris, "its rich perfume scenting the entire region".
*In the
Encyclopedia Brown series of children's detective stories, there is a story called "The Case of Smelly Nellie and the Ambergris".
*Ambergris is mentioned in
The Far Side of the World, one of the
Aubrey-Maturin series novels by
Patrick O'Brian.
*Ambergris is mentioned in "With no one as witness" by Elizabeth George.
*Ambergris is one of the main plot subjects in
Island at the Top of the World, a book by Ian Cameron, formally known as
The Lost Ones. It was later turned into a 1974 film produced by
Walt Disney Pictures.
Cinema
*In the 2003 motion picture
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, ambergris is mentioned as being a potential treasure found aboard the Acheron, a French privateer
*In the 2001 motion picture
Hannibal,
Dr. Lecter's secret location in
Florence, Italy was determined after FBI Agent Clarice Starling received a letter from him that was scented with a hand-engineered fragrance containing ambergris. Agent Starling consulted a team of fragrance industry experts who identified the presence of ambergris by smelling the letter and lamented their inability to work with this substance in the United States due to its prohibition.
Ambergris is mentioned during the
Futurama episode
Three Hundred Big Boys when the whale Mushu is caused to vomit by the rotten fish it ingests when Leela swims with it. Later, there is a cameo by Roseanne Barr explaining ambergris and its uses.
*The
Killer Whale episode of
The Avengers (with Cathy Gale) is about
ambergris smuggling.
*A whale-sized block of ambergris plays a central role in artist
Matthew Barney's film
Drawing Restraint 9Other
*There was also a
rock band called Ambergris, who released one self-titled album in 1970 through
ABC Records.
*In the
World of Warcraft video game, players occasionally receive an item called Threshadon Ambergris from defeating
Loch Ness Monster-like sea creatures.
*The John Singer Sargent painting "Fumee d'Ambre Gris (Smoke of Ambergris)", 1880 Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Massachusetts, USA
*
University of Miami Ambergris FAQ*
Natural History Magazine Article: Floating Gold -- The Romance of Ambergris*
Ambergris - A Pathfinder and Annotated Bibliography*
Article on Ambergris and its history*
On the chemistry and ethics of Ambergris
