Hi Ken,
Well, Śārngadharasaṃhitā 2.12.31 and  2, 12, 241 mention a "kācakūpī", so I think in that case it probably is a glass bottle. That is, a glass bottle covered in cloth soaked in mud. 2,12, 241 also mentions a "kācabhāṇḍa", which might not mean a bottle. In other cases, in which a kūpī is mentioned, it is not clear whether it might not be a clay vessel.
Certainly, the way these procedures are done today involve glass bottles. See for example, here.
Best, Dagmar

On 7 July 2016 at 10:18, Kenneth Gregory Zysk <zysk@hum.ku.dk> wrote:

Hi Dagmar,

 

Interesting query. How do you know that the word kūpī refers to a glass bottle, as opposed to some other vessel, since much of alchemical procedures used clay vessels?

 

Best,

Ken

 

From: INDOLOGY [mailto:indology-bounces@list.indology.info] On Behalf Of Dagmar Wujastyk
Sent: 7. juli 2016 10:03
To: indology
Subject: [INDOLOGY] glass in ancient India

 

Dear all,

Can anyone point me to publications on the making and use of glassware in ancient India? I am particularly interested in bottles (kūpī), as these appear relatively late in medical literature in the context of alchemical procedures.

Many thanks!

Dagmar

Dr Dagmar Wujastyk

University of Vienna

Institute for South Asian, Tibetan and Buddhist Studies

Spitalgasse 2, Hof 2.7

1090 Vienna

Austria