Cut Glass Bottles and Tear Collecting

Q I have a small cut glass bottle that has a glass stopper and a silver cap. The bottle is rectangular, about 4 inches long by 1/2 inch wide. I read that in Victorian times, a widow would collect her tears in a vial. Could my bottle be one of these?

A Tear collecting is referenced in the Old Testament of the Bible, in ancient Roman and Greek writings, and in Victorian poems and novels, but whether tear collecting was fact or legend is unclear. In the mid-1800s, when Victorian mourning customs became popular, it is said vials were used to collect tears wept for the departed loved one. Later, the tears were sprinkled on the grave to signify the end of official mourning. Another version of the custom claims mourning would last until the tears evaporated. It’s difficult to imagine how a crying person could coax their tears into such a small bottle, but it makes a very romantic image. During the Victorian era, glass bottles were made with decorative caps, and were similar in shape to some scent bottles. Your bottle, cut glass with a silver filigree cap, is worth about $30. If there is a mark on the silver maker’s mark on the cap, it will be worth more.