Secretum (British Museum)
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The Secretum is a name given to Cupboard 55 in the Department of Medieval and Later Antiquities at the British Museum, London. It previously contained the collection of ancient erotica given to the museum by George Witt. Most of the pieces have been integrated into their respective cultural collections now, but a few remain. Inaccessible by the public, it is a repository for exhibits of an erotic nature. Though claiming to be from ancient cultures, many of the remaining objects are Victorian fakes and are deemed unfit for public display on grounds of quality, rather than because of their obscenity. In any case, the museum's attitudes to material previously deemed to be obscene has now changed, as shown by the Warren Cup.
[edit] Appearances in popular culture
The Secretum may be the inspiration for the "secret annexe" of the British Museum, the base of operations for The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen in the eponymous series of comics. Exhibits there include a yahoo skull (from Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels) and statues labelled "Cult of Ayesha" (from H. Rider Haggard's She), continuing the high game of literary allusions throughout the series.
[edit] See also
[edit] Reference
Giamster, David (September 2000). "Sex and Sensibility at the British Museum". History Today 50 (9): 10-15. Retrieved on 2006-10-16.
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