An ampulla (; ) was, in Ancient Rome, a small round vessel, usually made of glass and with two handles, used for sacred purposes. The word is used of these in archaeology, and of later flasks, often handle-less and much flatter, for
holy water
Holy water is water that has been blessed by a member of the clergy or a religious figure, or derived from a well or spring considered holy. The use for cleansing prior to a baptism and spiritual cleansing is common in several religions, from ...
or
holy oil in the Middle Ages, often bought as souvenirs of pilgrimages, such as the metal
Monza ampullae of the 6th century. Materials include glass, ceramics and metal.
Unguentarium
An unguentarium (plural "unguentaria"), also referred to as Balsamarium (plural "Balsamarii"), Lacrimarium (plural "Lacrimarii") or tears vessel, is a small ceramic or glass bottle found frequently by archaeologists at Hellenistic and Roman sites ...
is a term for a bottle believed to have been used to store perfume, and there is considerable overlap between the two terms, one defined by shape and the other by purpose.
The glass
Holy Ampulla was part of the French
coronation regalia and believed to have divine origins. Similar, but far more recent, is the Ampulla in the
British regalia
The Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom, originally the Crown Jewels of England, are a collection of royal ceremonial objects kept in the Tower of London which include the coronation regalia and vestments worn by British monarchs.
Symbols of ov ...
, a hollow, gold, eagle-shaped vessel from which the anointing oil is poured by the
Archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Just ...
at the
anointing of a new
British sovereign
The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiwi ...
at their
coronation
A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of o ...
. The Danish ampulla, used during the king's anointing in the period of absolutism, is cylindrical in shape, made of gold, and decorated with enameled flower motifs and diamonds.
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Ancient Roman glassware
Ancient Roman pottery