A blown blue glass rose water sprinkler. Qajar Persia, 19th century

stylised pyriform shape, with a globular body resting on a circular splayed foot, with a curved elongated neck and a broad flaring pear-shaped rim, 25cm high.

This type of glass sprinklers has long been described as tear catchers, a name attributed to them by the peculiar shape of their rim. Indeed, in the Iranian folklore tradition, it seems that they were specifically gifted to young brides to gather their tears when pining their distant lovers, as a way to measure their love for them. The invention and use of tear catchers, also known as lachrymose, go back to Ancient Egypt, Persia and Rome where these bottles would have allegedly been used in funerary ceremonies and ritual processions. The Qajar examples only retain the shape and not the function of their ancestors. It seems more likely to believe that they were indeed used as rosewater sprinklers.