pomander

noun

1. (countable, historical, uncountable)A mixture of aromatic substances, made into a ball and carried by a person to impart a sweet smell or as a protection against infection.

   “Take red Storar, Nutmegs, Cucubes, Cloues, Nardus ſeed, Lignum Aloes, Indy Spica, and Cinamom, of each one drag. Muſcus and Amber of each one ſcruple, Landanum one ounce, make a Pomander thereof, like as there be many deſcribed in the ſixt part, and is alſo taught how the ſame is to be made.”

   “Your onely way to make a good pomander, is this. Take an ownce of the pureſt garden mould, clenſed and ſteeped ſeauen daies in change of motherleſſe roſe water, then take the beſt Labdanum, Benioine, both Storaxes, amber greece, and Ciuet, and muſke, incorporate them together, and work them into what form you pleaſe; this, if your breath bee not to valiant, will make you ſmell as ſweete as my Ladies dogge.”

   “I have ſold all my Tromperie: not a counterfeit Stone, not a Ribbon, Glaſſe, Pomander, Browch, Table-booke, Ballad, Knife, Tape, Gloue, Shooe-tye, Bracelet, Horne-Ring, to keepe my Pack from faſting: […]”

2. (countable, historical)A small case in which an aromatic ball was carried.

   “Colonel Johnson was talking to her earnestly, leaning over the card-table. On seeing Miss Harrison's gesture he rose suddenly, and attached to the ribbon of his watch was my godmother's silver pomander.”

   “In well-known portraits of the period the fashionable pomander is much in evidence. In Plate LV, page 547, the Spanish lady holds a jeweled pomander pendant to her girdle. The girdle, pomander, rings, pendant, tiara, and jeweled fur piece are excellent examples of the various kinds of ornament which prevailed during this century.”

   “Two very early pomanders were undoubtedly produced for different classes English society: the black, waxy ball moulded around a gold shaft, for the wealthy; the carved nut shell, for a lower class.”

3. (countable)A perforated container filled with pot-pourri for placing in a drawer, wardrobe, room, etc., to provide a sweet smell.
4. (countable)An apple or orange studded with cloves used for the same purpose.

   “Sir Thomas Gresham, in his celebrated portrait by Sir Antonio More, holds in his left hand a small object resembling an orange, but is a pomander. This sometimes consisted of a dried Seville orange, stuffed with cloves and other spices; and being esteemed a fashionable preservative against infection, it frequently occurs in old portraits, either suspended to the girdle or held in the hand.”

   “An orange with the pulp removed and replaced by spices and perfumes seems to have been sometimes used as a pomander, and Cardinal [Thomas] Wolsey is spoken of as holding one to his nose while passing among a crowd of suitors.”