1995.844.12: Phallic Amulet with Snail-Shell Testicles
AmuletsIdentification and Creation
- Object Number
- 1995.844.12
- Title
- Phallic Amulet with Snail-Shell Testicles
- Classification
- Amulets
- Work Type
- amulet
- Date
- n.d.
- Places
- Creation Place: Unidentified Region
- Period
- Modern
- Culture
- Unidentified culture
- Persistent Link
- https://hvrd.art/o/304289
Physical Descriptions
- Medium
- Brass
- Technique
- Cast, lost-wax process
- Dimensions
- 4.2 cm (1 5/8 in.)
- Technical Details
-
Chemical Composition: XRF data from Tracer
Alloy: Brass
Alloying Elements: copper, zinc
Other Elements: tin, lead, iron
K. Eremin, January 2014Technical Observations: The object is very well preserved, and there is no significant corrosion present. It is probably not ancient. The patina is black and brown with spots of green. It was probably cast from a model made directly in wax.
Henry Lie (submitted 2012)
Acquisition and Rights
- Credit Line
- Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of David and Genevieve Hendin
- Accession Year
- 1995
- Object Number
- 1995.844.12
- Division
- Asian and Mediterranean Art
- Contact
- am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
- Permissions
-
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Descriptions
Published Catalogue Text: Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes at the Harvard Art Museums
This amulet consists of a phallus with molded testicles in the shape of snail shells topped by a small suspension loop. The shell-testicles have a spiral pattern with raised ridges, and the center of each spiral is the widest point of the shell. The head is modeled and flattened at the tip; there is a raised seam on the underside of the phallus.
Although phallic amulets are common finds from the Roman world, this piece is modern. While no exact parallels for this type are known, it is very similar in style to the winged amulet, 1995.844.11 (1).
NOTES:
1. Compare P. Lebel, Catalogue des collections archéologiques de Besançon 5: Les bronzes figurés (Paris, 1961) 54, no. 152, pl. 61.3; M. Veličković, Rimska sitna bronzana plastika u Narodnom muzeju = Petits bronzes figurés romains au Musée National, Antika 4 (Belgrade, 1972) 195, no. 156; and N. Franken, “Die antiken Bronzen im Römisch-Germanischen Museum Köln: Die Fragmente von Grossbronzen und die figürlichen Bronzegeräte,” Kölner Jahrbuch 29 (1996): 7-203, esp. 196, no. 274, fig. 405.
Lisa M. Anderson
Subjects and Contexts
- Ancient Bronzes
Related Objects
Verification Level
This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu