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Priapus of Rivery
Bronze statuette dating from the 1st century, found in Rivery From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Priapus of Rivery is a bronze statuette dating from the 1st century, found in Rivery, in the Somme department, on the eastern edge of the city of Amiens in France. It is kept at the Musée de Picardie.
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History
The Priapus of Rivery was discovered in 1771 CE in a tomb filled with ceramics and glassware. It appears that this tomb was that of an important figure of the time. The statuette was kept at the Hôtel de Ville, Amiens until 1864 CE. Today, it is one of the oldest pieces in the Musée de Picardie. It dates from the 1st century CE[1].
Features
The bronze statuette measures 18 cm high, 9.2 cm long, 5.3 cm wide and rests on a quadrangular base. It represents a walking figure, bearded, with curly hair, wearing a cucullus, a very short Gallic cloak, a sort of cape with a hood, worn by both men and women. He also wears a short tunic revealing his bare thighs and legs, and caligae, a type of sandal with wooden soles[2].
The uniqueness of the statuette lies in the fact that it is composed of two removable parts: the head and the cucullus which forms a lid covering a phallus.
It is therefore Priapus, ithyphallic deity of antiquity, god of fertility, fecundity, protector of gardens and the countryside, whose cult was very widespread in the Roman world.
What is remarkable about this object is its plastic quality and its originality. Traces of gilding were found on the statuette.
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A similar bronze statuette was found in Jerez de los Caballeros in Badajoz, Spain and is now in the Archaeology Museum of Catalonia in Girona, inventory number 746.[3]
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See also
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External links
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