Not a Sad Affair – A Small Roman Glass Bottle in the Cathedral Treasure Museum Chur

Relics and reliquaries? In the Cathedral Treasure Museum Chur one not only encounters valuable objects from the Diocese of Chur’s nearly 1600-year-long history, one will also come across peculiar terms. Relics are, in a religious context, the physical remains or personal effects of saints. These relics are stored in so-called reliquaries.

These precious containers include a so-called unguentarium in the Cathedral Treasure Museum in Chur. The term designates small vessels made of glass or ceramic. Sometimes these vessels are also called tear bottles – based on the belief that the bottles were used to collect tears shed in mourning for the deceased. In fact, an unguentarium is a container for balsam or certain essences. Instead of bitter tears, thus, these small bottles contain fragrant liquids.

The unguentarium preserved in the Cathedral Treasure Museum in Chur is made of glass and is just under 9 cm high. The bottle was probably created as early as the 1st century AD. Nevertheless, it has a modern or even timeless appearance: the unguentarium is reminiscent of a modern, elegant perfume bottle.