ABSTRACT
Phallic and vulvate images were potent and efficacious amulets in the ancient world and were worn upon the body as pendants or finger rings, upon harnesses for both people and animals, and were available in a range of materials. They could be scribbled or carved onto stone, used to decorate the home, or adorn cutlery or weapons. The purpose of this chapter is to explore the relationships between objects depicting sexual imagery, their supposed magical or supernatural nature, and the materials in which they were produced. Through a wide-ranging view, focussing on the north-west provinces of the Roman Empire, the dialectic between images and material is explored through the lens of materiality to try to access and explore aspects of the apotropaic, sensory, social, and gendered narratives of these objects. Phallic and vulvate imagery clearly held a place of significance in the Roman world, but not as a single cohesive expression of magical practice. The context-specific, individualised, and variable nature of this phenomenon is here introduced and explored.
