Editing Incense (section)

==== Odorizant ====
Incense fragrances can be of such great strength that they obscure less desirable odours. This utility led to the use of incense in funerary ceremonies because the incense could smother the scent of decay. An example, as well as of religious use, is the giant [[Botafumeiro]] thurible that swings from the ceiling of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. It is used in part to mask the scent of the many tired, unwashed pilgrims huddled together in the [[Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela]].<ref name="smellsbells.com"/>

A similar utilitarian use of incense can be found in the post-[[English Reformation|Reformation]] [[Church of England]]. Although the ceremonial use of incense was abandoned until the [[Oxford Movement]], it was common to have incense (typically [[frankincense]]) burned before grand occasions, when the church would be crowded. The frankincense was carried by a member of the [[vestry]] before the service in a vessel called a 'perfuming pan'. In iconography of the day, this vessel is shown to be elongated and flat, with a single long handle on one side. The perfuming pan was used instead of the [[thurible]], as the latter would have likely offended the Protestant sensibilities of the 17th and 18th centuries.

Incense is also often used by people who smoke indoors and do not want the smell to linger.

[[Papier d'Arménie]] was originally sold as a disinfectant as well as for the fragrance.