Auction details
4:00 AM PT - Mar 16th, 2012
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Circa 11th-12th century AD A carved stone figure with large D-shaped face, short body, thin arms and legs, the hands gripping the phallus. Stone, 6.6 kg, 28 cm (11") From an important collection of gargoyles; found Canterbury, Kent, UK. The use of grotesque figures, often in obscene poses, was introduced during the Norman period with the sheila-na-gig statuettes (a woman using both hands to open her genitals"). The figures were intended as a warning against the deadly sin of lust. They appear on churches and occasionally on Norman castles, as prominent architectural features.
Condition reportFair condition, eroded. Rare.
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