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Lot Essay
French novelist and playwright Henry de Montherlant, author of Les Célibataires (1934) and the series of Les Jeunes Filles (1936–1939), was very close to fellow writer Roger Peyrefitte. Amongst other themes, the passion for the classical world was very close to both friends and in their private correspondence they often refer to each other as 'the Last Roman' (de Montherlant) and 'the last Greek' (Peyrefitte).
In ancient Rome, tintinnabula were apotropaic objects used to ward off evil spirits. These objects were ordinarily suspended from doorways, or elsewhere around houses, shops, bathhouses, city gates and gardens, and typically had bells hanging off of them. This specific tintinnabulum would have had bells hanging from its wings, as indicated by the loop at the end of each tip. A Roman tintinnabulum was often polyphallic, in order to symbolise abundance and power while also drawing the evil eye from whatever it had previously been targeting.
In ancient Rome, tintinnabula were apotropaic objects used to ward off evil spirits. These objects were ordinarily suspended from doorways, or elsewhere around houses, shops, bathhouses, city gates and gardens, and typically had bells hanging off of them. This specific tintinnabulum would have had bells hanging from its wings, as indicated by the loop at the end of each tip. A Roman tintinnabulum was often polyphallic, in order to symbolise abundance and power while also drawing the evil eye from whatever it had previously been targeting.