I don’t know what we were expecting.

Still, the partially eroded, ancient clay genitals of the Belvedere Torso made us do a little wince this morning.

The damaged appendage is the first to be released from its modest fig leaf this week as part of a fascinating project that will see sculpture conservator Eoghan Daltun remove the fig leaves from six male figures in the Crawford’s collection of Canova Casts, carrying out any delicate repairs necessary as he goes.

Looks like this one might need a bit of imagination…

While the Canova Casts are thought to be more than 200 years old, it’s believed the fig leaves (a nod to Adam and Eve’s use of them to cover their modesty) were added in Cork after 1818.

After the ‘fig’ reveal, the plaster leaves will be retained and placed on display separately at the Emmet Place gallery.

Follow the action as the project continues via the Crawford Art Gallery’s Twitter feed.

Photos: Crawford Art Gallery