Unguentarium
: lacrimarii) or tears vessel,[1] is a small ceramic or glass bottle found frequently by archaeologists at Hellenistic and Roman sites, especially in cemeteries.
[7] In its early development, the shape was modeled in miniature after larger amphoras, which would have been the original bulk shipping containers for products sold in the unguentaria.
[25] Most unguentaria from the Athenian agora were probably intended for secular use, as they are found in household dumps; the pattern of deposition in some wells, however, suggests votive offerings.
[27] Perfumed oils, ointments, balsam, jasmine, kohl, honey, mastic, incense, scent powders[28] and cosmetic preparations are among the contents proposed by scholars or evidenced by archaeology.
[31] Chemical analysis of red and pink substances in two glass unguentaria from the Ebro valley in Spain showed that they were likely cosmetics, but similar ingredients are found in therapeutic recipes.
[33] There is little or no evidence of how the contents were prevented from spilling, as no corks, wax or clay seals, or lead stoppers have been found with unguentaria as they have with other vessels.
[37] Mass production of Roman blown-glass unguentaria is indicated by their frequent asymmetry, which results from speed and timing in shearing the neck from the blow-pipe.
[40] By the 3rd century, the black-figure lekythos with palmettes or Dionysiac scenes has been completely replaced as a standard grave good by the undecorated, "cruder" unguentarium, indicating a shift in burial practice that is characteristic of the period.
[41] Although the unguentaria seem often to have been buried along with other objects associated with or treasured by the deceased or as grave gifts, they may have also have held a substance — such as oil, wine, or powdered incense — for a graveside ritual.
Late Hellenistic gravestones depict unguentaria resting in a support, but they would also fit well in the palm of the hand, as shown in this Egyptian mummy portrait.
[42] Ritual dispensing, rather than long-term storage, might explain both the lack of durability needed for use in daily life and the absence of stands, stoppers or seals.
[45] Gravestones from Anatolia depict the deceased with a similar group of objects, including mirror, comb, boxes and cistai, wool basket, and unguentaria.
[48] At Amisos (modern Samsun) in the Black Sea region of Turkey, the grave goods in the early Hellenistic tomb of a wealthy family were exceptionally rich and of outstanding workmanship, but the unguentaria were plain and made of clay.
[53] The grave goods of Jewish ossuaries at Jericho in the Second Temple period often include unguentaria along with bowls, lamps, and various vessels ordinarily encountered in daily life.
[56] The many unguentaria at the Latin town of Aricia reflect the growth of commerce to support ritual activities at the famous sanctuary of Diana there.
[57] Most ceramic unguentaria either lack surface decoration or have simple horizontal lines around the neck or body consisting most often of three narrow bands of white paint.
[59] A striking example of a glass fusiform unguentarium from 1st-century Syria, a little over six inches tall, has a white spiral curling around the cerulean body.
[60] Techniques of "marbling," intended to emulate fashionably extravagant vessels made of sardonyx during the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius, were used for unguentaria as well as bowls.
Made of milky glass, the vessel has a globular body decorated with an egg-and-dart motif around the top and festoons and vine clusters around the bottom.
[62] The use of the term "lacrimarium" or "lacrimatorium" (also "lacrymatory" or "lachrymatory") for unguentaria persisted because the small vessels were believed to have been used to collect the tears (lacrimae) of mourners to accompany the beloved in the grave.
This belief was supported by a scriptural reference (Psalm 56.8) translated in the King James Bible as "put thou my tears into thy bottle.
Edited by Susan I. Rotroff and reprinted with other essays in Hellenistic Pottery and Terracottas (American School of Classical Studies at Athens, 1987).
