The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word EROTICA
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
E
R
O
T
I
C
A
More clues leading to the result EROTICA
- English actor I savaged for saucy stuff
- Blue material ripped up at ICA
- Titillating material ripped up by art institute
- Time invested in symphony and certain literature?
- Woman penning books such as Fifty Shades of Grey
- Tchaikovsky’s First Symphony covers exciting material
- I react excitedly, having screened old smut
- Jazz mags and books hidden by Heather
- Irate CO replaced porn
- Stirring material, Mozart’s finale in symphony
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "titillating art" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case titillating art = erotica.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does EROTICA mean?
EROTICA noun- Erotic literature, art, decoration or other such work.