SALE Antique Victorian Glass Tear Bottle Mourning Tear Catcher

Antiques : By Period, Style : Victorian

 

These bottles have been referred to throughout history, but made a reappearance during the Victorian era (1837-1901) when people became a bit obsessed with death, and mourning rituals. From lachrymatorydotcom....."During Victorian funerals, men and women alike would shed tears for the deceased. A more upscale ceremony would distribute lachrymatory for the guests to capture their tears and aid in their mourning". From the reference book: "Mourning Art & Jewelry" by Maureen DeLorme on page 224. According to DeLorme these tears bottles are called "weeping bottle" or "tear catchers". She states that the concept is based on a verse from Psalm 56:8, where David returns from losing a battle and cries out to God, "Hast Thou not saved my tears in Thy bottle?" This idea of God saving his tears appealed to the Victorians sense beliefs, and thus women would hold these vials up to their eyes to save their tears, and then keep them on their vanity table. Some traditional accounts, states DeLorme, hold that the weeping bottles would then be emptied over the grave on the first anniversary of the death.

The bottle on page 224 of this book is almost exactly like the bottle for sale here with the exception of the length. My bottle is almost 7 inches long whereas DeLorme's bottle, from her collection, is 6 inches long. This bottle is in EXCELLENT condition, with NO cracks, or chips or roughness around the opening. There is some roughness at the bottom, where the hand blown glass tube would have ended, and been sealed. It has deeply etched designs on 2 sides, and the gold painted accents there is 100%. The other 2 sides had gold painted accents on the smooth glass, and that is mostly gone. Notice that it is rare to find any kind of a stopper. Some say that cork was used as a stopper, while others say wax was used to seal the bottle.

Item ID: 2150