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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1995.844.2
Title
Phallic Amulet
Classification
Amulets
Work Type
amulet
Date
1st-3rd century CE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World
Period
Roman Imperial period
Culture
Roman
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/304360

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Copper alloy
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
3 x 1.4 x 2 cm (1 3/16 x 9/16 x 13/16 in.)
Technical Details

Technical Observations: The patina is a mottled olive green over dark brown. There are some lighter areas on the surface, and tan burial accretions are present in the recesses. The file marks on the outer end of the phallus, which give it a faceted appearance, are probably the result of post-excavation cleaning.

The object was cast in one piece by the lost-wax process, and it was loosely modeled in the wax. The file marks near the join between the loop and the phallus are ancient, as are the facets on the loop. The juncture of the testicles seems to have been emphasized with crudely fashioned indentations.


Francesca G. Bewer (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
1995.844.2
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
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Descriptions

Published Catalogue Text: Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes at the Harvard Art Museums
This amulet consists of a stylized phallus with testicles and a large irregular loop (1). The testicles are irregular spheres at the base of the phallus, while the head is indicated by an incised line on the top. The shaft tapers toward the tip. Due to the placement of the loop, when worn the phallus would point outward, away from the wearer and toward any viewer, perhaps increasing its apotropaic power.

Phallic amulets could have decorated a variety of objects, from horse trappings to lamps (2). Their symbolism provided them with an apotropaic, protective function (3).

NOTES:

1. Compare University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, inv. no. 29-196-15; British Museum, London, inv. nos. 1814,0704.1239 and 1814,0704.1268; Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, inv. no. Fr. 1346 a (with suspension chain); B. Borell, Statuetten, Gefässe und andere Gegenstände aus Metall, Katalog der Sammlung antiker Kleinkunst des Archäologischen Instituts der Universität Heidelberg 3.1 (Mainz, 1989) 143-44, no. 169, pl. 55; and A. Kaufmann-Heinimann, Die römischen Bronzen der Schweiz 5: Neufunde und Nachträge (Mainz, 1994) no. 339.

2. P. M. Allison, The Insula of the Menander at Pompeii 3: The Finds (Oxford, 2006) 33. For lamps, see L. Pirzio Biroli Stefanelli, ed., Il bronzo dei Romani: Arredo e suppellettile (Rome, 1990) 190 and 270, no. 55, figs. 161-62, where a triple amulet is part of an elaborate hanging lamp, which also includes several bells and an ithyphallic figurine.

3. See M. Kohlert-Németh, Römische Bronzen 1: Aus Nida-Heddernheim, Götter und Dämonen, Archäologische Reihe 11 (Frankfurt am Main, 1988) 66-67.


Lisa M. Anderson

Subjects and Contexts

  • Ancient Bronzes

Related Works

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