A mummified erection has been displayed in the Victor Wynd Museum of Curiosities, Fine Art & Natural History (Picture: Oskar Proctor/Solent)

A museum in East London has unveiled its strangest item yet – a seven-inch long mummified erection.

The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities, Fine Art & Natural History has added the penis to its unusual collection of exhibits at a cost of £2,500 for a year.

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Bizarrely, the rare piece belonged to an 18th Century Englishman who happened to become erect as he was hanged.

A lack of oxygen to the brain – caused by this method of capital punishment – often led to erections forming.


But it could be a ‘death erection’ – technically called a priapism – which can occur post mortem, and is attributed to pressure on the cerebellum at the base of the brain created by the noose.

A lack of oxygen to the brain can lead to an erection (Picture: Oskar Proctor/Solent)

The attraction in Hackney, East London, is not for the easily-offended as it also features ancient Chinese sex toys, numerous mummified animals, the skull of a cyclops and a jar of the late singer Amy Winehouse’s poo.



Viktor Wynd, the museum’s curator, said: ‘The penis belonged to an 18th Century Englishman, and little more is known.

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‘Asphyxiation frequently leads to erection and ejaculation. Hanged men would frequently ejaculate.’

He explained how mummified body parts are supposed to have ‘magical properties’ in some ancient cultures.

He said: ‘Body parts were frequent perquisites of executioners and many different parts were supposed to have magical properties.

‘For example, there is something called the “Hands of Glory” – which is the mummified hands of hanged men which were believed to be extremely powerful.’

For a number of years, the strange object has been in a private collection before ending up at the museum.

Mr Wynd used money from a crowdfunding campaign to buy a Peruvian mummy, having fallen short of the original target.

It was unveiled yesterday [Tuesday] and will remain on display for the next year.