14th century Bowl from Paterna with a sodomitic scene

Abstract

Study of a 14th century bowl from Paterna (Valencia, Spain) found in the see near Cullera (Valencia). The bowl is decorated with an interesting representation of an act of sodomy in which three characters participate. The piece is described and the clothing represented are studied. Stylistic analysis of the painted representation on the inside of the bowl indicates that it was probably made in Paterna around 1350–1375. The iconographic analysis of the interesting scene leads to a historical relationship with the campaigns against sodomy of the 14th century, without excluding that it could illustrate popular oral literature of a pornographic and profane nature that has not been preserved.