Victorian tear bottles (Lachrymatory)

By Andy Hagerty

 The Victorian era was one of the most interesting times in human history in many ways.  One of the notable customs of the day was the fascination with death and funerary customs.   Tear bottles were not new to the Victorian Era, however.  There are references to them in the bible’s Old Testament and buried with Egyptian mummies.  Legend has it that the Persian kings would return from battle and check their wives bottles to see who had missed him. Writings in pre-Christian Rome reference the tear bottles.  Often official mourners would carry these bottles in the procession.  The mourner who filled the bottle with the most tears would often get a bonus.  The custom of the time was the more tears shed for you, the more important you were.   The fall of Rome and the dark ages caused this tradition to fall to the wayside.

 This custom was picked back up in Victorian England sometime around 1837.   There were a plethora of rituals and customs that dealt with proper mourning of the departed.  During Victorian funerals, men and women alike would shed tears for the deceased into a lachrymatory that used a special stopper.  The stopper would allow the tears to slowly evaporate, which would end the mourning period.  Being the Victorian era, the bottles were fancy and delicately crafted for the woman; men often used a cigar shaped container.
 There are tons of options today if you wanted to perform this tradition in modern times.  You can purchase ancient roman bottles, more modern Victorian bottles, or even modern reproductions of these items. The web is full of these items, and easily searchable.
 
 However, there is a strong undercurrent that all these bottles were used for other practices, and the story of tear bottles is a modern manufactured story.  There is not a lot on the history of these bottles, so we will continue to research this topic, and as always, we solicit input from our readers.