Chastity belt in iron covered with crimson velvet... Lot 4

Chastity belt in iron covered with crimson velvet on the outside and cream fabric on the inside. Waist circumference: 72 cm. Deployed height: 52.5 cm. (wear, no lock) A velvet covered iron chastity belt. From the same collection as the portrait of Antonietta Gonsalvus by Lavinia Fontana sold at Château d'Artigny in June 2023. Provenance: collection of Dr. Edgar Bérillon (1859-1948), collector of the portrait of Antonietta Gonsalvus by Lavinia Fontana discovered in 2023 during the sale at Château d'Artigny; by descent, collection de l'Yonne. Related work: comparable undated model in the Sauvageot donation of 1856, kept at the Musée du Louvre, Département des Objets d'Art du Moyen Age, de la Renaissance et des Temps Modernes, n°NP48. The first description of a chastity belt appears in Konrad Kyeser's "Bellifortis" circa 1420 (BNF, Département des Manuscrits. Latin 17873), an engineering work combining realistic and fanciful technical proposals. Associated with medieval times by Rabelais and Voltaire, the evocation of these belts is above all metaphorical and allegorical. Although the first instruments appeared in Italy in the 15th century under the name of "Venus belts" or "Florentine belts", most were created in the 19th century to satisfy the tastes of collectors, particularly English collectors, looking for these "Gothic" objects.