Irish erotica history just scored a huge win after Twitter came together to crowdfund an auction bid for a possibly haunted, ivory-carved Victorian dildo from an American collector. The artifact will now be returned to its homeland and ostensibly donated to an Irish museum to be put on display.
The effort was coordinated by Shawna Scott, owner of Sex Siopa—Ireland’s “favorite sex positive online boutique,” who wrote on Twitter Monday that she had previously noticed the Victorian dildo last time it went up for auction in 2017 and that she was “devastated” to see it leave Ireland.
Irish Twitter! A couple years ago a Victorian ivory dildo went up for auction and it made headlines. It was reportedly sold to an American private collector for €3200. I was devastated! https://t.co/eyMfJVcy3O
— Shawna – Smut Peddler in Chief of Sex Siopa (@SexSiopa) July 29, 2019
It is such an important piece of our Irish sexual history, but often times unless there's a connection to the Famine or 1916, really cool artefacts like these that give us a glimpse into the sex lives and humour of our ancestors are de-prioritised and forgotten.
— Shawna – Smut Peddler in Chief of Sex Siopa (@SexSiopa) July 29, 2019
At the time, the dildo made headlines when it was put up for sale by a well-known Anglo-Irish family. Auctioneer Damien Matthews of Matthews Auctioneers then told the Irish Times that it was “one of the most interesting pieces he’s ever sold at auction in his career.”
“It was crazy, we had bids from museums, sex-shop owners, housewives, doctors–just mad,” he told the publication. “It is interesting in that it reveals practices from Victorian-era Ireland that we wouldn’t have known about.”
According to Matthews, the ivory used for the dildo is estimated to date back to the 1840s and would have likely have been carved in China. He believes it would have been a “very loving” gift from husband to wife.
However as the dildo, now decreased in value, once again found its way to auction this week, Scott was not about to lose another chance at preserving such an important part of Irish sexual history.
It also seems to be estimated at far less that it was 2 years ago (about €400-700), so the dildo is CLEARLY haunted which adds an element of intrigue that I am 100% on board with.
— Shawna – Smut Peddler in Chief of Sex Siopa (@SexSiopa) July 29, 2019
Please if you know someone who works in one of our national museums or the OPW or might have in interest in helping secure this thing temporarily till it finds a proper home in a museum, please tag them here. I don't want to risk it leaving Ireland again.
— Shawna – Smut Peddler in Chief of Sex Siopa (@SexSiopa) July 29, 2019
It was then that Scott got the idea to crowdfund to win back the dildo for Ireland. Given the short turnaround, however, she didn’t have time to set up a campaign and instead had to take donations from Paypal—promising to return all donations in the event that she did not secure the winning bid.
OK folks. The auction is in 90 minutes, so I don't have time to set up a crowdfunding campaign. What I'm going to do is if anyone wants to contribute to our bid, they can paypal me the money (hello@sexsiopa.ie), and if we don't win, I'll refund everyone back.
— Shawna – Smut Peddler in Chief of Sex Siopa (@SexSiopa) July 29, 2019
If we do win this auction, I'll be looking into which museum it would best be suited to donate to. Tag your faves below. #HauntedDildoAuction
— Shawna – Smut Peddler in Chief of Sex Siopa (@SexSiopa) July 29, 2019
And then, it was on like Donkey Kong, with the hashtag HauntedDildoAuction:
Ok with regards to how the donation money will be used:
— Shawna – Smut Peddler in Chief of Sex Siopa (@SexSiopa) July 29, 2019
If we lose, obviously all donations will be sent back via Paypal.
If we win, I start phoning museums.
T-minus 5 minutes to #HauntedDildoAuction!
— Shawna – Smut Peddler in Chief of Sex Siopa (@SexSiopa) July 29, 2019
After what must have been a helluva nail-biter, finally on Tuesday it was time. And … success! She managed to win the Victorian dildo for the bargain price of €620.
If you want to hear me screaming the word “FUCK!” a lot, you can watch my Instagram Live from the moment I won the dildo last night. I’m @sexsiopa pic.twitter.com/dTQlXdsCGv
— Shawna – Smut Peddler in Chief of Sex Siopa (@SexSiopa) July 30, 2019
Needless to say, those who had been along for the ride were ecstatic with the happy outcome.
This is the first time* I've ever read through a Twitter thread thinking "oh I hope they get the haunted dildo"
— Paul 📚🇺🇦 (@paullikesbooks) July 29, 2019
*ok, 2nd.
https://twitter.com/INOTJONATHAN/status/1156090434856325121
I’m very late to the party but I’m so happy for you and your haunted ivory dildo!!! This is wonderful.
— Bex (@BexieLady) July 29, 2019
It’s still unclear where the dildo will be donated to, but there are already a few takers:
Omg yes of course! That would be amazing!
— Shawna – Smut Peddler in Chief of Sex Siopa (@SexSiopa) July 30, 2019
I would totally love to donate it to you, but as it's a piece of Irish history, I want to try to keep it in an Irish museum if I can. If not, you will 100% be 1st on my list.
— Shawna – Smut Peddler in Chief of Sex Siopa (@SexSiopa) July 29, 2019
Wherever it winds up, there’s no disputing that this is a great day for Irish history and an even greater day for dildos.
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