A giant flying penis, with bells on
We had a little excursion yesterday to the Roman Archæological Museum in Oudenburg, close to Bruges
Oudenburg is the location of a Roman fort which is gradually being excavated.
Until the end of next month, they have a special exhibition on the theme of “Roma Intima: love, lust and the body” which is basically about sex in Ancient Rome as told through material culture. It’s in-your-face entertaining, including rings with phallic motifs and the mysterious spintriæ, coin-like metal tokens with a number on one side and a sexual position on the other.
But the crowning glory is this amazing decoration of a woman riding a giant penis, with bells on. Apparently this is an example of a tintinnabulum - a door chime whose purpose was to ward off evil spirits. It certainly struck us as worth the (modest) price of admission on its own.
(They also have an exhibition of the Live Marble photographs by Nicolai Endegor, in which well-known nude sculptures are partially recreated with living women.)
To be honest, it’s only really worth going if you are in the Bruges/Ostend area anyway, and have half a morning or afternoon to kill and don't mind reading everything in Dutch. (It’s closed on Mondays, otherwise open weekday mornings and every afternoon.) But defintiely worth a look, especially if you can get there before the exhibition closes in late October.
Oudenburg is the location of a Roman fort which is gradually being excavated.
Until the end of next month, they have a special exhibition on the theme of “Roma Intima: love, lust and the body” which is basically about sex in Ancient Rome as told through material culture. It’s in-your-face entertaining, including rings with phallic motifs and the mysterious spintriæ, coin-like metal tokens with a number on one side and a sexual position on the other.
But the crowning glory is this amazing decoration of a woman riding a giant penis, with bells on. Apparently this is an example of a tintinnabulum - a door chime whose purpose was to ward off evil spirits. It certainly struck us as worth the (modest) price of admission on its own.
(They also have an exhibition of the Live Marble photographs by Nicolai Endegor, in which well-known nude sculptures are partially recreated with living women.)
To be honest, it’s only really worth going if you are in the Bruges/Ostend area anyway, and have half a morning or afternoon to kill and don't mind reading everything in Dutch. (It’s closed on Mondays, otherwise open weekday mornings and every afternoon.) But defintiely worth a look, especially if you can get there before the exhibition closes in late October.