Bronze phallic ornament

Roman

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 171

This ornament probably hung as a charm from a tintinnabulum, a wind chime adorned with bells and intended to ward off evil. These phallic tintinnabula were doubly apotropaic, the protective effect of the phallus strengthened by the ringing of the bells. The phallus on these objects could take many different forms, transforming into a wolf, dog, beast, lion, monster, or winged creature.

Bronze phallic ornament, Bronze, Roman

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