Among the glass objects displayed in the Museum’s showcases, a series of elegant and delicate glass vessels shaped like birds stands out. They were discovered in the cemeteries of Roman Thessaloniki, in female burials dating from the early 1st century to 125 AD. 

They are made of colorless or semi-transparent blue glass and abstractly depict the form of a small bird, possibly a dove, with a long neck and a characteristic elongated conical tail. It is believed that some of these items were imports from the western part of the Roman Empire, while others were locally made. In any case, they contained cosmetic powder for makeup, in red, blue, or pink colors, and were sold along with their contents.

The choice of a dove for the shape of the vessel containing the cosmetic substance was not accidental, but clearly aimed at promoting the product more successfully—a kind of “marketing” of the time—since doves were closely associated with the worship of Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty and erotic allure, which also encompassed the adornment of women. It is even possible that the glass birds in the graves were placed there after the use of their contents for the care of the deceased.

The method of creating and using these vessels is of unique interest: during their production, the tip of the tail remained open initially. The vessel was then filled with cosmetic powder, and in the final stage, it was sealed by locally reheating the tip of the tail. When the product reached the customer, she would have to open it by "destroying" it—more specifically, by carefully breaking the tip of the tail to access its contents. This is the earliest known form of single-use cosmetic packaging in antiquity!

You can see the glass doves up close in the permanent exhibition "Thessaloniki, the Metropolis of Macedonia", showcase 8.