page_title: George Witt (collector)
section_title: Australia and London
hierarchical_section_title: George Witt (collector) / Australia and London
caption_attribution_description: English: Discourse on the worship of Priapus and its connection with the mystic theology of the ancients was written by Richard Payne Knight. It was republished by George Witt in 1865
context_page_description: George Witt MD FRS was a doctor, banker and mayor known for his collection of erotic objects.
context_section_description: Witt emigrated to Australia and settled in Sydney in 1850 where he resumed his medical career. Within a short time however he was distracted to banking and speculation and at this occupation he made a fortune as a banker. Witt returned to the United Kingdom where he used his money to establish a new house near Hyde Park. Witt now began to put together a collection of what would have been considered obscene objects. Witt was not concerned with the detailed provenance of these objects and he collected both ancient and modern items. Witt shared these objects with an international group of correspondents who appreciated these artefacts. Some of the items concerned nothing more unusual than body cleaning including the Uerdingen Hoard.
  In the 1860s there was a lot of interest in the theories concerning the worship of Priapus and Witt organised for Richard Payne Knight's Discourse on the worship of Priapus and its connection with the mystic theology of the ancients to be republished with additional material and illustrations in 1865. Following an illness the same year, Witt approached the British Museum to enquire whether they would take his collection. The museum's director Anthony Panizzi agreed to take the objects even though they became a major part of a secret collection known as the museum's Secretum. Panizzi did not think twice as he considered the collection to be of the right quality for his museum. The collection appeared to be chosen primarily on the basis of its obscenity. The collection included modern photographs of women partially dressed as gladiators which were not thought to be academic artefacts but they were designed to be erotic. One of the artefacts was a toothed chastity belt which was thought to be medieval but was in fact a contemporary invention. In general however Witt's collection covered the major civilisations of Greece, Rome, Egyptian, Indian, Chinese, Tibetan, Japanese and Native American. Besides votive objects, bronzes and pottery his collection also included watercolours and sketches. Of particular note were his library and the records of his correspondence which included the details of objects not in the collection including a catalogue of the secret cabinet of Naples Museum.
  Following the acceptance of his collection by the British Museum in 1865, Witt published "Catalogue of a Collection Illustrative of Phallic Worship" in 1866 to commemorate the approval of his artefacts by Panizzi. Witt died on 20 February 1869, at his home, 20 Princes' Terrace, Hyde Park, London. He was buried at Swaffham Prior. His wife, Elizabeth (née Hedley), died at the same house in 1871 and was also buried at Swaffham Prior.
caption: Frontispiece of Discourse on the worship of Priapus and its connection with the mystic theology of the ancients by Richard Payne Knight as republished by Witt in 1865
exif: {}