Unguentarium - Knowledge (XXG)

31: 420: 702: 20: 617: 2161: 229: 446:, the purpose of their inclusion has not been determined with certainty or may vary by site. Unguentaria found in burials range in size from miniatures (4–5 cm.) to large examples 20 to 30 cm. high. The presence of the vessel in Hellenistic graves may indicate a revival of an earlier practice, attested in the 6th century by 471: 248:. These are regularly associated with graves in the 1st century. The piriform unguentarium was in use for a limited period of about a hundred years and did not replace the fusiform. An exception to this chronology is the squat rounded unguentarium with painted bands found on the northeast coast of Spain and in other 1718: 469:

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. The design of many unguentaria would not permit

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have also been called unguentaria. In these examples, dating from the period of the piriform type, the neck has become a spout, and the profile is no longer vertical. As with other unguentaria, no clear distinction can be made between the use of these vessels for grooming in daily life, and their

365:, scent powders and cosmetic preparations are among the contents proposed by scholars or evidenced by archaeology. With their long slender necks, the vessels were most suited for dispensing liquids, oils, and powders. Roman examples of bulbous unguentaria have been found with traces of 106:

sites, especially in cemeteries. Its most common use was probably as a container for oil, though it is also suited for storing and dispensing liquid and powdered substances. Some finds date into the early Christian era. From the 2nd to the 6th century they are more often made of

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Some graves contain multiple unguentaria, in one case numbering 31 of the fusiform type, while others hold a single example. Grave gifts sometimes consisted of nothing but unguentaria. Neither the piriform unguentaria nor thin blown-glass vessels occur in burials before the

389:, would be difficult to remove through the narrow neck. 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. 995:(Oxford: Clarendon Press 1982, 1985 printing), p. 2092. The noun is a modern coinage as it applies to these vessels: see Susan I. Rotroff, "Hellenistic Pottery: Athenian and Imported Wheelmade Table Ware and Related Material," part 1: text, 279:, or are squat and rounded with a very long neck; they come in a range of colors including aquamarine, pale green, and yellowish green, or may be colorless. This shape was popular in the 2nd and 3rd centuries and is also characteristic of 529:, 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. One of the bodies was adorned with gold earrings in the shape of 470:

them to stand without support, but no stands have been found. 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

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and a bronze needle; another, of a female child, contained an unguentarium, earrings, a blue glass pendant, and six knucklebones. Gold leaves and unguentaria were the grave gifts in a burial chamber at

224:, which they replace by the end of the 4th century BC. The fusiform unguentarium was in use for several centuries and the form shows many variations, including later examples with very slender profiles. 477:

There is no standard assemblage of grave goods for which an unguentarium was required. Unguentaria often appear among articles for personal grooming; in one example, with a stone cosmetics palette,

411:, which results from speed and timing in shearing the neck from the blow-pipe. Recycled glass, as from a large, heavy broken bottle, could have been used to make many of the smaller unguentaria. 396:

of products. Roman glass unguentaria often have markings or lettering, usually on the base, that could indicate the manufacturer of the vessel or the supplier or dealer of the product inside.

639:, a little over six inches tall, has a white spiral curling around the cerulean body. The base comes to an elongated, rounded point, and the lip is well-formed and prominent. Techniques of " 763:

elaborating the idea of "the phial of his kinsman’s tears." Since the early 20th century, the use of a vessel to collect tears of grief has been regarded as more poetic than plausible.

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Overview article (in English and Russian) with detailed information on individual unguentaria (termed "balsamaria" here) and line drawings; also describes accompanying grave goods.

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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.

170:, which would have been the original bulk shipping containers for products sold in the unguentaria. An unguentarium is not always distinguished in the scholarly literature from an 404:

identity for the product they contained. These vessels include some of the larger unguentaria and may have been used for shipping as part of the Nabataeans' active perfume trade.

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after the middle of the 1st century BC. The use of the new medium for unguentaria resulted in variations of form, including the thin, "test-tube" type. Glass unguentaria made in

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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.

561:, glass unguentaria appear as containers for scented oils in both cremations and inhumations in this period and continuing into the 3rd century, but disappear by the 4th. 1622:

33 (2006), p. 157, with cautions on the difficulty of defining industries or determining whether the vessels were intended for local products or repackaging bulk imports.

474:. 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. 2004:

49 (1999), p. 38; Natalia Vogelkoff-Brogan, "Late Hellenistic Pottery in Athens: A New Deposit and Further Thoughts on the Association of Pottery and Societal Change,"

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91 (1987), pp. 116–117; Josefina Pérez-Arantegui, Juan Ángel Paz-Peralta, and Esperanza Ortiz-Palomar, "Analysis of the Products Contained in Two Roman Glass

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desert caves, for instance, yielded unguentaria of aquamarine glass with large bubbles. A striking example of a glass fusiform unguentarium from 1st-century

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when Cleopatra chides the Roman for shedding few tears over the death of his wife: "Where be the sacred vials thou shouldst fill / With sorrowful water?"

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91 (1987), p. 115; Josefina Pérez-Arantegui, Juan Ángel Paz-Peralta, and Esperanza Ortiz-Palomar, "Analysis of the Products Contained in Two Roman Glass

186:-container"). All three terms reflect modern usage based on assumptions about their use, and no single word is found in ancient sources for the vessels. 1983:(Cambridge University Press, 2007) pp. 39 and 294–295, where the term "unguentarium" is used as it was in antiquity for a shop that sells fragrances or 174:, a term from antiquity that may refer to these as well as other small vessels. In scholarship of the modern era, an unguentarium is sometimes called a 162:

is functional rather than descriptive; that is, it refers to the purpose for which this relatively small vessel is thought to have been used and is not

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Natalia Vogelkoff-Brogan, "Late Hellenistic Pottery in Athens: A New Deposit and Further Thoughts on the Association of Pottery and Societal Change",

541:, snake bracelets and bracelets with lion-head terminals, and other gold items; on the right side of the skull was placed a single clay unguentarium. 1149:

91 (1987), pp. 105–106; Susan I. Rotroff, "Hellenistic Pottery: Athenian and Imported Wheelmade Table Ware and Related Material", part 1: text,

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showed that they were likely cosmetics, but similar ingredients are found in therapeutic recipes. The name "unguentarium" may be misleading, as

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as used for perfumed oil in bathing and grooming, but notes the diversity of craft tradition associated with them. Most unguentaria from the

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It has been suggested that products shipped in bulk containers were dispensed for sale in these smaller vessels. Perfumed oils, ointments,

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were probably intended for secular use, as they are found in household dumps; the pattern of deposition in some wells, however, suggests

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Josefina Pérez-Arantegui, Juan Ángel Paz-Peralta, and Esperanza Ortiz-Palomar, "Analysis of the Products Contained in Two Roman Glass

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Josefina Pérez-Arantegui, Juan Ángel Paz-Peralta, and Esperanza Ortiz-Palomar, "Analysis of the Products Contained in Two Roman Glass

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23 (1996) 649–655, with reference to literary sources on the preparation of cosmetics (pp. 654–655). The substances were a mixture of

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Josefina Pérez-Arantegui, Juan Ángel Paz-Peralta, and Esperanza Ortiz-Palomar, "Analysis of the Products Contained in Two Roman Glass

373:, as ingredients for these preparations often overlap. Chemical analysis of red and pink substances in two glass unguentaria from the 2046: 954: 923: 904: 841: 829: 244:, "pear") began to appear in the second half of the 1st century BC and is characteristic of the Roman era, particularly the early 2257: 1696:

Karen Stears, "Losing the Picture: Change and Continuity in Athenian Grave Monuments in the Fourth and Third Centuries B.C.," in

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Pérez-Arantegui, Josefina, with Juan Ángel Paz-Peralta and Esperanza Ortiz-Palomar. "Analysis of the Products Contained in Two

816: 717:" or "lachrymatory") for unguentaria persisted because the small vessels were believed to have been used to collect the tears ( 200:

body resting usually on a small distinct ring foot, with a long tubular neck or cylindrical stem. The shape is comparable to a

2252: 1181:, vol. 5 (American School of Classical Studies at Athens, 1959), p. 15; Nabil I. Khairy, "Nabataean Piriform Unguentaria," 681:

and vine clusters around the bottom. The middle had six panels illustrating various vessels, with two examples each of the

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91 (1987), pp. 113–114; Patricia Maynor Bikai and Megan A. Perry, "Petra North Ridge Tombs 1 and 2: Preliminary Report,"

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for "piriform", but is applied descriptively to the fusiform to distinguish certain examples from more slender profiles.

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Susan I. Rotroff, "Hellenistic Pottery: Athenian and Imported Wheelmade Table Ware and Related Material," part 1: text,

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Susan I. Rotroff, "Hellenistic Pottery: Athenian and Imported Wheelmade Table Ware and Related Material," part 1: text,

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Susan I. Rotroff, "Hellenistic Pottery: Athenian and Imported Wheelmade Table Ware and Related Material," part 1: text,

1486:

Susan I. Rotroff, "Hellenistic Pottery: Athenian and Imported Wheelmade Table Ware and Related Material," part 1: text,

1418:

Susan I. Rotroff, "Hellenistic Pottery: Athenian and Imported Wheelmade Table Ware and Related Material," part 1: text,

1405:

Susan I. Rotroff, "Hellenistic Pottery: Athenian and Imported Wheelmade Table Ware and Related Material," part 1: text,

1390:

Susan I. Rotroff, "Hellenistic Pottery: Athenian and Imported Wheelmade Table Ware and Related Material," part 1: text,

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Susan I. Rotroff, "Hellenistic Pottery: Athenian and Imported Wheelmade Table Ware and Related Material", part 1: text,

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Rotroff, Susan I. "Hellenistic Pottery: Athenian and Imported Wheelmade Table Ware and Related Material," part 1: text.

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and smashed pottery. A single unguentarium was buried with a dog, possibly a pet, in an industrial district in Athens.

1919:(London: Routledge, 1998), p. 125, on the unguentaria as evidence of how quickly Roman burial customs were adopted in 126:

Unguentaria were used as product packaging in commerce and for funerary practice. They are distributed throughout the

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by Jennifer Hook and Veronica Soch, representing individual unguentaria, with date, color, and provenance; archived

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period often include unguentaria along with bowls, lamps, and various vessels ordinarily encountered in daily life.

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240 (1980), pp. 85–86; Virginia R. Anderson-Stojanovic, "The Chronology and Function of Ceramic Unguentaria,"

1444: 1392: 991: 748: 323: 2180:). A commercial site, but with excellent color images of various types in glass, as well as information on 2165: 1737:(Brill, 2003), p. 63; Susan I. Rotroff, "Fusiform Unguentaria," in "Hellenistic Pottery: The Plain Wares," 454:, which involved the deposit of a small container of perfume or oil with the dead. By the 3rd century, the 2262: 1827: 1565:

23 (1996), p. 650; Virginia R. Anderson-Stojanovic, "The Chronology and Function of Ceramic Unguentaria,"

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33 (2006), p. 137; Virginia R. Anderson-Stojanovic, "The Chronology and Function of Ceramic Unguentaria,"

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240 (1980), p. 85; Virginia R. Anderson-Stojanovic, "The Chronology and Function of Ceramic Unguentaria,"

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240 (1980), p. 85; Virginia R. Anderson-Stojanovic, "The Chronology and Function of Ceramic Unguentaria,"

884: 767: 721:) of mourners to accompany the beloved in the grave. This belief was supported by a scriptural reference ( 636: 319: 2134:

4 (1934), p. 473; Virginia R. Anderson-Stojanovic, "The Chronology and Function of Ceramic Unguentaria,"

2065:(University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology, 1999), pp. 22–23, with illustrations of the technique. 553:, unguentaria are the most common grave gifts made of glass during the first half of the 1st century; in 1822: 1618:

23 (1996), p. 650; Susan I. Potroff, "Fusiform Unguentaria," in "Hellenistic Pottery: The Plain Wares,"

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91 (1987), p. 106; Susan I. Rotroff, "Fusiform Unguentaria," in "Hellenistic Pottery: The Plain Wares,"

774:" which reference Greek Girl Tears, alluding to the role that the tear bottle played during Greek times 501:, wool basket, and unguentaria. One Athenian burial produced five bulbous unguentaria along with five 2113: 2032: 744: 735: 706: 455: 358: 291: 189:

Small vessels of two shapes, usually but not always without handles, are referred to as unguentaria:

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29 (1997), pp. 175–176, note 28, for references on possible ancient terminology. In antiquity, the

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Gladys Davidson Weinberg and Dan Barag, "Glass Vessels," in "Discoveries in the Wâdi ed-Dâliyeh,"

1863: 972: 935: 201: 99: 438:, a type of oil-storing vessel associated with funeral rites before the unguentarium replaced it 19: 701: 2042: 2034:

Magnificent Objects from the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology

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54 (2004), p. 82, with reference to John Hayes (1971), who categorized a wheel-made, fusiform

950: 919: 900: 837: 602: 312: 213: 2095:, but "list my tears on your scroll" or alternatively "put my tears in your wineskin" in the 260:

is used rather confusingly in the scholarship to describe both forms. "Bulbous" appears as a

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piriform wheel-thrown unguentaria show creative variations by potters, perhaps to establish

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29 (1997), p. 177, and "Fusiform Unguentaria," in "Hellenistic Pottery: The Plain Wares",

879: 667: 494: 196:– The fusiform shape (example here) is characteristic of Hellenistic unguentaria: a heavy 1809:, are common in burials; see, for instance, Jenifer Neils, "The Morgantina Phormiskos," 1984: 1729: