Dark greenish-black figurine holding a horn-like object. The figurine is wearing a floor-length toga with a large draped scarf overtop and placed on a rectangular brown platform.
Side view of a dark greenish-black figurine wearing a large scarf and holding a horn-like object, facing leftwards. They gesture outwards and are placed on a rectangular dark brown platform.
Side view of a dark greenish-black figurine wearing a large draped scarf and holding a horn-like object. They gesture outwards and are placed on a thick rectangular dark brown platform.
Dark greenish-black figurine wearing a large draped scarf and holding a horn-like object. With an outstretched hand, gestures towards the viewer and is placed on a rectangular dark brown platform.
Opposite side view of a dark greenish-black figurine wearing a large draped scarf and holding a horn-like object. They gesture outwards and are placed on a rectangular dark brown platform.
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Unknown Maker, Roman

Fortuna

Maker

Unknown Maker, Roman

Culture

Roman

Title

Fortuna

Period

Imperial Roman period

Year

1-199 CE

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Dimensions

13.4 x 7.1 x 3.2 cm (5 1/4 x 2 13/16 x 1 1/4 inches)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Museum purchase: gift of Ambassador J. W. Middendorf II and Frances Middendorf and Helen M. Danforth Acquisition Fund

Object Number

2021.17

Type

Exhibition History

Being and Believing in the Natural World
Perspectives from the Ancient Mediterranean, Asia, and Indigenous North America
Oct 22, 2022 – Jun 04, 2023

Label copy

Originally a fertility deity, the Roman goddess Fortuna gradually assumed the characteristics of Tyche, the Greek goddess of luck. Both goddesses could bestow good fortune as easily as harsh punishment, and their unpredictability made mortals fear them.

The Romans made many offerings to Fortuna, some in the form of small figures such as this one. The cornucopia in her left hand suggests agricultural fertility and abundance, and her right hand may have held a bowl for liquid offerings. Similar figures were found in several household shrines in Pompeii’s ruins.

—GB

Image use

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Public Domain This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Unknown Maker, Roman
Fortuna, 1-199 CE
Bronze
13.4 x 7.1 x 3.2 cm (5 1/4 x 2 13/16 x 1 1/4 inches)
Museum purchase: gift of Ambassador J. W. Middendorf II and Frances Middendorf and Helen M. Danforth Acquisition Fund 2021.17

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