Bidspirit auction | Crystal Stone - ''Ram's Head''

Crystal Stone - ''Ram's Head'' and ''Phallus'' (Fertility Cult) - Crystal Stone - ''Ram's Head'' and ''Phallus'' (Fertility Cult) China, probably 19th century. Crystal stone. L. 13.5 cm. Weight 203 g. Phallus representation with a ram's head at one end. Presumably handmade. With inclusions. Condition: Signs of age and wear. ''Ram's heads'' and ''phallic symbols'' (fertility cult) were important cultural signs from China's prehistoric period (Neolithic) up to the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties. They reflect the reverence of early ancestors for the propagation of life and the prosperity of livestock farming, embodying closely linked symbols of fertility: Phallic symbols (masculinity cult): Early communities regarded them as emblems for the origin of life and for vital creative power. Ram's heads (fertility and luck): As sheep possess strong reproductive capacity (multiple births and a gentle nature) and were an important source of food and clothing, they became central totems of the northern nomadic peoples and the ancestors in the Central Chinese cultural sphere.