Tintinnabulum Pompeii MAN Napoli Inv27854

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

, a ''tintinnabulum'' (less often ''tintinnum'') was a wind chime or assemblage of bells. A ''tintinnabulum'' often took the form of a bronze '' ithyphallic'' figure or of a '' fascinum'', a magico-religious phallus thought to ward off the

evil eye The evil eye is a supernatural belief in a curse brought about by a malevolent glaring, glare, usually inspired by envy. Amulets to Apotropaic, protect against it have been found dating to around 5,000 years ago. It is found in many cultures i ...

and bring good fortune and prosperity. A ''tintinnabulum'' acted as a door amulet. These were hung near thresholds at a shop or

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

, under the

peristyle In ancient Ancient Greek architecture, Greek and Ancient Roman architecture, Roman architecture, a peristyle (; ) is a continuous porch formed by a row of columns surrounding the perimeter of a building or a courtyard. ''Tetrastoön'' () is a rare ...

s (around the inner courtyard or

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...

) by the bedroom, or the '' venereum'', where the wind would cause them to tinkle. They were also made to ring like doorbells, a series of them being tied to cord attached to a bell pull. The sounds of bells were believed to keep away evil spirits; compare the apotropaic role of the bell in the " bell, book, and candle" ritual of the earlier

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. It has also been surmised that '' oscilla'' hung on hooks along colonnaded

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...

es may have comparable evil-warding intents. Hand-bells have been found in sanctuaries and other settings that indicate their religious usage, and were used at the Temple of '' Iuppiter Tonans'', "Jupiter the Thunderer." Elaborately decorated pendants for ''tintinnabula'' occur in Etruscan settings, depicting for example women carding wool, spinning, and weaving. Bells were hung on the necks of domestic animals such as horses and sheep to keep track of the animals, but perhaps also for apotropaic purposes. A number of examples are part of the Secret Museum collection at the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli.

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;Citations ;Sources *

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* Highlights from the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

Lion-phalluswinged phallusdiphallic figure
* Metropolitan Museum of Art
Bronze phallic ornament
{{Amulets and Talismans Lucky symbols Amulets Bells (percussion) Ancient Roman erotic art Phallic symbols Ancient Roman metalwork

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