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At the beginning of the excavations started in Pompei and Ercolano frescoes, statues and mosaics characterized by an evident erotic content were found.
This discovery upset all the ideas concerning the ethic values of the ancient people that got famous during the previous centuries. They discoverd the ancient Greek-Roman world from a new and surprising point of view.
Sexuality was exhibited without shame and it seemed to be a very important element of everyday life.
Bourbons decided at first to censure the erotic founds especially for the fact that Grand Tour foreign travellers started talking about the dissolute past and present costums of the Reign of Naples.
In 1851 the entrance door was walled up. As you can imagine, the censorship let grow the general curiosity. A collection of 'priaps' was instituited in a room of the Royal Museum in Portici; in order to visit it they needed a special permission.
In 1821 a 'Study of obscene objects' was opend; by the passing of time it also collected more recent works as the Danae by Titian. With unity of Italy it was decided to open the erotic collection to the pubblic as a sign of changed and modernity in opposition to the repressive politics of the Bourbon dominion.
To Giuseppe Fiorelli was assigned the task to order the collection and draw up its catalogue; in order to impart lustre and national importance to a such original art collection it was enlarged acquiring new founds.
During the Twentyth century only few people could visit the erotic study. It was opened again in 1976 but soon it was closed in order to restore it; it was then finally opened in the spring of the year 2000.
Visiting the neapolitan collection you will see also pre-roman i.e. Greek, Etrurian works whose erotic iconography seem to be ispired by the Greek culture as well.
There are also some votive offerings coming from the popular religion of centre Italy; they represent some parts of the human body and were offered as good wish or thanks for recoveries in the sanctuaries.
The biggest part of the collection is made of mythologic paintings that were beloved mostly by rich people as consequence to the Greek influence. These paintings are about the illicit love affairs of Mars and Venus, Polifemo and Galatea; the dressing ups of Jupeter as in the painting 'Leda and swam' represent the love metamorphosis really famous at that time.
Also ermafrodite (the Frigian god with the woman body and the penis) and satir were painted very much.
The roman house garden was usually the most decored place with erotic themes.
The garden was Priap reign; Priap was the Frigian god with an enormous penis that he used in order to punish the fruit thieves, raping them.
The garden as natural place was also the world of mysterious beings as Pan, Dionisius, satirs and pigmies. The pigmies lived in Africa and they represent the opposite ideal kind of human being; they assigned them an excessive sexual activity at the open air. Pigmies were often painted on the triclinus desks that were put in Pompeii at the open air. Already in the Greek world the 'banchetto' was the place of luxury.
Besides the triclinus also the objects using during the meals (glasses, silver cups, trays, vases, small statues) were decorated with erotic themes. Also the paintings that decorated places of pleasure were ispired by the Greek culture, many frescoes with love positions were found in Pompeii private rich houses or in the 'meretriciae' cells (i.e. the places where the prostitution was practised).
The 'meretriciae' cells were linked to taverns or pubblic toilets. In Pompeii there were also found talismans (used to protect against bad luck and diseases): fired clay skylights, bronze bells and statues with erected penis.
The representation of penis was often painted in Pompeii baker's and shops façades as symbol of protection. To the collection of the Museum belong also some Egyptian works that were bought in 1815 by Stefano Borgia according to Ferdinando IV will.
Some ojects, as for istance stone dwarves with big penis in their hands seem to be original, some others are more closed to the Settecento taste and therefore they seem to be false, but interesting anyway for understanding the age of the collector.