Lot 5466

Description

Roman glass tear bottle, c.3rd century B.C., narrow pear shape with long neck, silver iridescence 120mm high. Very fine, with descriptive ticket.

Ex Banking and Currency Museum and previously Spink Australia, Sale 19 (lot 3138) coming from the collection of Antiquities formed by Geoffrey D. Robinson, formerly controller of the Perth Mint, The tear bottle tradition has endured for more than 3,000 years. Tear bottles, or lachrymatory, were common in ancient Middle Eastern societies. Even today they are still produced in that region. Tear bottles were prevalent in ancient Roman times, when mourners filled small glass vials or cups with tears and placed them in burial tombs as symbols of love and respect. Sometimes women were even paid to cry into "cups", as they walked along the mourning procession. Those crying the loudest and producing the most tears received the most compensation, or so the legend goes. The more anguish and tears produced, the more important and valued the deceased person was perceived to be.