Looking at Lovemaking: Constructions of Sexuality in Roman Art, 100 B.C.-A.D. 250

Ramage, Nancy H.; Clarke, John R.

doi:10.2307/4352423

Cited by 5 publications

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“…While archaeologically elusive, such emotions are part of the human condition and must have played out in various aspects of material culture. The link between phallic representations and/or sexual imagery with humour is well attested in the Roman world; indeed the inducement of laughter was partly what empowered the phallus to counter the evil eye (Richlin 1992;Clarke 2001;Pearce 2020). Another parallel is found in the 'grotesque' figure from a third century AD well in the extramural settlement of Rainau-Buch, Germany, where a wooden phallus made use of a cylindrical socket for insertion into the carved wooden figure (Greiner 2008: 214-215).…”

Section: Projecting Componentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Lieberman's (2017) popular history of sex toys in the USA includes some discussion of their use in earlier periods across the world but directs limited attention to the material evidence. We can assume, however, that such objects existed in other past societies, and this is strongly supported in texts and artistic representations from the Graeco-Roman world (Nelson 2000;Clarke 2001). Yet they rarely feature in archaeological finds registers or discussions, and there are limited archaeological comparanda.…”

Section: Sexual Implementmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Touch wood: luck, protection, power or pleasure? A wooden phallus from Vindolanda Roman fort

Collins

Sands

2023

Antiquity

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The anaerobic conditions at the Roman fort of Vindolanda, close to Hadrian's Wall in northern Britain, have famously preserved a variety of finds made of organic materials, including wooden writing tablets and a pair of leather boxing gloves. Here, the authors re-examine a wooden object originally recovered in 1992, re-interpreting the find as a large, disembodied phallus. Stone and metal phalli are known from across the Roman world, but the Vindolanda example is the first wooden phallus to be recognised. Combining evidence for potential use-wear with a review of other archaeological and contextual information, the authors consider various possible interpretations of the function and significance of the Vindolanda phallus during the second century AD.

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Section: Projecting Componentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Sexual Implementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Touch wood: luck, protection, power or pleasure? A wooden phallus from Vindolanda Roman fort

Collins

Sands

2023

Antiquity

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“…For a discussion of the handbooks, see Parker 1992, 92-94. 33 Several important examples: Johns (1982) makes the critical distinction between mythological and non-mythological subjects in erotica; Keuls (1985) examines power dynamics and sex in Greek art; Clarke's work on Roman art remains foundational in scope, methodology, and analysis ;Clarke 1998;. More recently, Vout (2013 discusses a range of themes in Greek and Roman erotic imagery.…”

Section: Female Pleasure and Status In The Visual Artsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chains of gold: female status and the Roman 'catena' in the early Imperial period

Nelson

2023

Acta

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This article considers the Roman body chain (catena), which comprises two long lengths of woven gold chain worn crisscrossing the torso. Roman illustrations of women wearing catenae demonstrate that the form carried strongly erotic connotations relating to the goddess Venus and female sensuality. A small corpus of preserved body chains from the Vesuvian region testifies to their actual use by women in the first centuries BC and AD. This study examines the status of the women who wore such jewellery, which combined clear economic expense with erotic messaging. In opposition to claims that the sexual nature of body chains signals their association with prostitutes, it is argued here that visual and textual sources contemporaneous with the Vesuvian chains point to women of “respectable” social categories having both the freedom and incentive to express a confident sexual identity. Important archaeological evidence offers further indications for the ownership and use of catenae by Roman women of varying status. The potential meanings and motivations underlying the shared use of this symbolic form of adornment are also addressed. On cover:Late Roman wall, the portion immediately south of the West Gate (Porta Oea) with re-used blocks from first-century mausolea (Drawing by Francesca Bigi) and Tombstone of Regina from South Shields (Arbeia) (Tyne and WearArchives and Museums/ Bridgeman Images). E-ISSN (online version) 2611-3686 ISSN (print version) 0065-0900

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“…Notable studies of Campanian painting include Frederik 2002 on the erotic gaze; Elsner 2007, 67-109 on parallels in ecphrasis and painting; Squire 2016; Platt and Squire 2017. A different approach has been taken by Clarke 1998Clarke , 2003Clarke , and 2007, who challenges the notion of a generic Roman Viewer constructed from fragmentary texts of elite male writers and considers a range of viewers, including slaves, freedmen, women, old, young, straight, and gay. The present essay focuses on one aspect of viewing in narrative scenes, namely the shifting viewpoints and levels of awareness of depicted figures.…”

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confidence: 99%

Seeing and Knowing in Roman Painting

Bergmann

2023

Ovid, Death and Transfiguration

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A seated male and a standing woman lock gazes (Fig. 8.1). The man, a cap over his unkempt hair and holding a traveler's staff across his lap, sits on a column drum in an open pose, his body turned toward the viewer. The woman, in contrast, stands upright, in profile, her left arm across her waist with a spindle and distaff in hand, while her right fingers rise to touch her chin. The couple's identities are clear from his scraggly appearance and pointed cap and from her characteristic gesture of thought. They are identifiable from the situation itself. Indeed, this is one of the most famous recognition scenes in ancient literature: Ulysses, disguised as a beggar, has returned to Ithaca after twenty years.Is Penelope puzzled, in doubt, or at this very second seeing her husband for who he really is? The static, protracted confrontation remains unresolved, leaving the viewer in suspense about both their states of mind. Tension is heightened by the presence of another viewer, a female peering over a wall, who mirrors our own observation of the couple. In this way, differing points of view and levels of awareness intersect, both within and without the picture. The emphasis on looking is not without irony, for it will be not be Ulysses' visual appearance, but his words that ultimately reveal his true identity. Resolution of the impasse requires a storyteller, and we are invited to supply, in the mind's eye, past and future events and even the verbal exchange between the two.The encounter of Ulysses and Penelope, a classic example of anagnorisis (recognition, discovery, disclosure), introduces the topic of this essay: how seeing and knowing are depicted in Roman mythological painting. In Homer's epic, Ulysses' homecoming occurs gradually, as a series of revelations of his true identity through the senses, primarily through vision, but also touch (the scar) and scent (Argos), as well as memory. The hero's successful return and physical survival depend upon the perceptions of others. The female onlooker in the fresco may well be Ulysses' nurse Eurycleia, who has earlier identified him by the scar on his leg, while this moment, the final recognition of husband by wife, will secure Ulysses' return to his former self. It was a popular scene in visual media and theater from the 6th century bce and appears in several Campanian frescoes of the 1st century ce, such as this panel in the Macellum

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Looking at Lovemaking: Constructions of Sexuality in Roman Art, 100 B.C.-A.D. 250

Cited by 5 publications

References 0 publications

Touch wood: luck, protection, power or pleasure? A wooden phallus from Vindolanda Roman fort

Touch wood: luck, protection, power or pleasure? A wooden phallus from Vindolanda Roman fort

Chains of gold: female status and the Roman 'catena' in the early Imperial period

Seeing and Knowing in Roman Painting

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