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ROME. 1st-3rd century AD. PB Tessera (13mm, 1.75 g). Phallus / Blank. Rostowzew –; Milano, Tessere 146. VF.
Rostowzew grouped the tesserae depicting a phallus with others bearing the legend AMOR and the handful of lead pieces depicting sexual acts, assuming they were all related to the brothels. Thornton (“The Roman Lead Tesserae : Observations on Two Historical Problems Author,” in Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte 29 [1989]) makes a much stronger case for relating them to the god Mercury. Tesserae types generally depict either two deities, a deity and an attribute, two attributes, or some combination attribute or deity and legend, and the phallus is often found paired with attributes associated with Mercury.
Closing Date and Time: 18 December 2019 at 13:05:20 ET.
All winning bids are subject to a 18% buyer’s fee.
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