Met exhibition explores sexual symbolism of musical instruments

An exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York examines the erotic and bodily associations of musical instruments, from phallic flutes to voluptuous violins. The show draws on the museum's extensive collection of instruments and artworks to reveal how instruments have been designed and perceived as extensions of the human body, often with explicit sexual connotations. Curated by a team including Jayson Kerr Dobney, the exhibition features over 100 objects spanning centuries and cultures, including a Renaissance-era lute with a carved female figure and a 20th-century electric guitar shaped like a woman's torso. The display highlights how instrument makers and artists have intentionally or subconsciously imbued their creations with anthropomorphic and erotic qualities. The exhibition runs through August 2025.