Tintinnabulum in forma di gladiatore itifallico (27853)

The tintinnabulum, equipped with four little bells linked to four four small chains, depicts a gladiator with a turban, short tunic and sandals. He holds a dagger in one hand and a manica or arm-guard in the other. Portrayed with his arms raised and advancing, the gladiator fights against his own phallus which becomes a panther with a wide-open mouth, about to pounce on him. The ithyphallic tintinnabula had a heavily apotropaic value, stemming from the combination of the phallic symbol, bestower of good fortune and prosperity, with sound, which had always been used to ward off evil. They were sometimes used during sumptuous banquets to announce a new course; more frequently they were hung in private houses and especially in public buildings so that they chimed when visitors passed and warded off the evil eye, rather like the Priapus preserved in situ on the right–hand post of the door leading to the atrium (c) in the Casa dei Vetti (VI, 15, 1) in Pompeii.