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„Habet testiculos duos et bene pendentes“
Zwei Latrinenstühle zwischen antikem Stuhlgang, päpstlicher Nutzung und modernem Blick
This paper discusses the object biography of two ancient thrones made of red marble. After being used in Roman antiquity as sanitary toilet chairs of the elite, they were repurposed in the Middle Ages as ceremonial thrones of the newly elected pontiff and were seen as the alleged "proof" of the female pope Joan. Around 1800, they were exhibited in the Vatican museums before being looted by Napoleon. Similar to the transformative reception of the two ancient objects, researchers consistently regarded them as anything but toilets, be it as thrones, bathing- or birthing-chairs. The paper explores these different uses and perspectives on the objects and how this reflects upon the respective society.
