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The tear bottle tradition has endured for more than 3,000 years. Tear bottles, or lachrymatory (taken from the word 'lachrymose', which means "given easily to tears or to crying; mournful"), were common in ancient middle Eastern societies. Even today they are still produced in that region. Per Wikipedia, "A tear catcher, also called a Tear Bottle, is typically an ornamental vase piece, made from blown glass and dyed appropriately to the creator's taste. There is an attached glass fixture at the opening of the stem that is formed to your eye."
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. Tear bottles reappeared during the Victorian period of the 19th century, when those mourning the loss of loved ones would collect their tears in bottles ornately decorated with silver and pewter. Special stoppers allowed the tears to evaporate. When the tears were gone, the mourning period would end.
According to the website, Facets of History, the tear bottle was commonly used in America from the 1720's until shortly after the Civil War. They can be found in several historical museums in the United States. Used in both the North and the South, "this was a custom that the highest level of social status participated in upon the death of a husband or child. The wife (or Mother – if a child died) would with her close women friends, hold a memorial service on the day of the death, but before the Sun set on the day of their death. A friend or sister would formally present the Wife with a glass bottle, and then during the memorial service she would weep into the bottle. At the end of the service they would seal around the glass stopper with bee's wax or paraffin. The woman would save the bottle to remember the loss of her husband or child. The tradition was taken from the Bible in the book of Psalms. This bottle was also called a weeping bottle or tear vial. This bottle was saved by the woman for a year. It was a tradition to empty the tears from the bottle onto the grave on the first anniversary of the death of the loved one."
1870 Victorian Tear Bottle (Pinterest)
Silver Victorian Tear Bottle (Pinterest)
You can find numerous examples of tear bottles around the Internet. Personally, I can appreciate using the tear catcher as a timekeeper of sorts for mourning. I agree with our Victorians friends that mourning and grief should be given its own period of time with the mourner given proper space to acknowledge and eventually accept the loss and change in their life. Perhaps when the tears vanish from the tear bottle, it signifies that life moves on while the memories and love remain.
Do you like the idea of a tear catcher or do you think it is another example of Victorian era mourning gone to the extreme?
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