Romano-British Bronze Priapus Statuette

2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D.

1 1/2 in. (14.1 grams, 40 mm).

Modelled in the round, standing, wearing a paenula, his hands holding up the hem to support a pile of fruits on his erect penis.

Provenance

Found Lincolnshire, UK.

Literature

Cf. Rolland, H., Bronzes Antiques de Haute Provence, Paris, 1965, item 136, for type.

Footnotes

This is one of the most characteristic representations of Priapus: standing, with long, smooth hair. With his hands, he raises his tunic, revealing his phallus, a symbol of fertility and good luck, and carries the first fruits of the earth on the hem of his tunic.

CONDITION

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LOT 0996