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Welcome to Back of the Napkin, musings from Serviette for the cultured world. As the weather slowly begins to warm, New Yorkers are moving outside en masse. After a particularly punishing winter (and several “false springs”), this week could be our week. Serviette believes this merits a proper celebration—and what better excuse than a dinner party that borders on theatrical?
As far as dinner parties go, few civilizations approached the form with such operatic ambition as the Romans. Banquets were tightly woven into the social, economic, and political fabric of ancient Roman society, and, like our modern social engagements, came with their own set of cultural expectations and customs—some worth resurrecting, others best left to history’s more indulgent corners.
Scent played a surprisingly important role in Roman dinner parties, in part due to its close association with hygiene and presentation. Guests were expected to arrive freshly bathed, properly tunic-ed, and, in many cases, perfumed with scented oils. Handwashing was customary upon entry, often performed using perfumed water. Some hosts lit incense or offered fragrances for a final, strategic adjustment. Might we suggest keeping a bottle of Serviette on hand at your next soirée for a particularly pleasant-smelling evening, or something to foist upon your guests as they enter?
Attendees were expected to carry their own cloth napkin (a mappa) to dinner with them—a precedent that lends surprising historical legitimacy to your embroidered serviette. On occasion, these napkins were even used to cart leftovers home. (The original doggy bag, if you will.) The meal itself was a lavish affair, an opportunity for the host to assert their good taste and social status. For this reason, the element of spectacle was paramount: elaborate recipes, exotic produce, and dishes that skirted sumptuary laws with a certain bravado. Sow udder, anyone?
Perhaps most delightfully, diners were invited to eat in a reclining position, as it was thought to aid with digestion. (In Serviette’s opinion, they very well may have been onto something). Meals were taken by hand, and when finished, it was entirely acceptable to discard bones and scraps onto the floor. This habit became so widespread it entered the visual language of the home: asarotos oikos, or “unswept room,” mosaics depicted the remains of a feast as a kind of aesthetic afterthought—one man’s trash…
Today, dinner parties are about more than status. They’re a means of connecting over a shared experience, bridging cultural differences, and coming together as a community. Serviette’s newest release is inspired by a particularly notable dinner party between Roman historian Priscus (the fragrance’s namesake) and Attila the Hun for this very reason. It’s an unlikely duo sharing a meal and a glass of wine—all the tartness of a fresh, juicy plum tempered by the honeyed glow of immortelle. As one reviewer so kindly professed, “[Serviette] does fruit justice.”
May this week’s newsletter inspire you to connect with friends new and old (and maybe even strangers) over a communal experience, gustatory or otherwise. We hope Serviette has a place at your table (or fragrance tray).