X06A pendant in the form of a bi-valve mussel shell in which is depicted a vulva

Description

Certain shells have served many cultures as amulets, being seen as visual equivalents of the vulva. In Europe, the mussel and cockle shells were used for this purpose and in Bosch’s painting ‘Garden of Earthly Delights’ dating from c.1510 a naked couple can be seen copulating inside an outsize mussel-shell. Original found in Rotterdam