An
ampulla (; plural
ampullae) was, in Ancient Rome, a "small nearly globular flask or bottle, with two handles" (
OED). The word is used of these in archaeology, and of later flasks, often handle-less and much flatter, for
holy water 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 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 Crown Jewels, a hollow, gold, eagle-shaped vessel from which the anointing oil is poured by the
Archbishop of Canterbury at the
anointing of a new
British sovereign at their
coronation.