Secretum (British Museum)
Encyclopedia
The Secretum was 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 (1804–1869), physician and collector of phallic antiquities. Inaccessible by the public, it was a repository for exhibits of an erotic nature.
All the objects previously held in the Secretum have now been integrated into their respective cultural collections (though claiming to be from ancient cultures, many of them were in fact Victorian fakes and so are now kept off display for this reason rather than for their obscenity), and the museum's attitudes to material previously deemed to be obscene has now changed, as shown by the Warren Cup
.
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.
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. It previously contained the collection of ancient erotica
Erotica
Erotica are works of art, including literature, photography, film, sculpture and painting, that deal substantively with erotically stimulating or sexually arousing descriptions...
given to the museum by George Witt (1804–1869), physician and collector of phallic antiquities. Inaccessible by the public, it was a repository for exhibits of an erotic nature.
All the objects previously held in the Secretum have now been integrated into their respective cultural collections (though claiming to be from ancient cultures, many of them were in fact Victorian fakes and so are now kept off display for this reason rather than for their obscenity), and the museum's attitudes to material previously deemed to be obscene has now changed, as shown by the Warren Cup
Warren Cup
The Warren Cup is an ancient Roman silver drinking cup decorated in relief with two images of homosexual acts. The cup is named after its first modern owner, the collector and writer Edward Perry Warren, and was acquired by the British Museum in 1999...
.
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 GentlemenThe League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is a comic book series written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Kevin O'Neill, publication of which began in 1999. The series spans two six-issue limited series and a graphic novel from the America's Best Comics imprint of Wildstorm/DC, and a third miniseries...
in the eponymous series of comics. Exhibits there include a yahoo
Yahoo (literature)
A Yahoo is a legendary being in the novel Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift.Swift describes the Yahoos as vile and savage creatures, filthy and with unpleasant habits, resembling human beings far too closely for the liking of protagonist Lemuel Gulliver, who finds the calm and rational society...
skull (from Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift was an Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer , poet and cleric who became Dean of St...
's Gulliver's Travels
Gulliver's Travels
Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World, in Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships, better known simply as Gulliver's Travels , is a novel by Anglo-Irish writer and clergyman Jonathan Swift that is both a satire on human nature and a parody of...
) and statues labelled "Cult of Ayesha
Ayesha (novel)
Ayesha, the Return of She is a gothic novel by the popular Victorian author H. Rider Haggard, published in 1905, as a sequel to his far more popular and well known novel, She...
" (from H. Rider Haggard
H. Rider Haggard
Sir Henry Rider Haggard, KBE was an English writer of adventure novels set in exotic locations, predominantly Africa, and a founder of the Lost World literary genre. He was also involved in agricultural reform around the British Empire...
's She
She (novel)
She, subtitled A History of Adventure, is a novel by Henry Rider Haggard, first serialized in The Graphic magazine from October 1886 to January 1887. She is one of the classics of imaginative literature, and with over 83 million copies sold in 44 different languages, one of the best-selling books...
), continuing the high game of literary allusions throughout the series.