Stone statue of Isis-Fortuna

Stone statue of Isis-Fortuna

Date
2nd century AD
Dimensions
Height: 100mm
Medium
Sandstone

Female statue fragmentarily preserved, lower part, head and left arm missing. She is wearingmantle typical for goddess Isis and her worshippers, over a chiton (kind of tunic), the ends of which are tied in a so-called knot of Isis. The figure issyncretic depiction of Isis (the Egyptian goddess of fertility) and the Roman goddess of good fortune and prosperity – Fortuna (an identical arrangement of the dress can be found on the statue of Isis-Fortuna standing in Luxor, Upper Egypt). In her left hand (not preserved) the goddess heldcornucopia (symbol of happiness and prosperity), an attribute of Fortune. The lower part of her curls is preserved on the shoulder. The goddess Isis, wife and sister of Osiris, was considered a symbol of mother and wife virtues in Egypt. Ptolemaic queens identified with her, depicted in typical Isis robes and with the symbol of the dynasty, a cornucopia, in their hands. In the period of the Roman Empire, the cult of Fortune, symbolising the prosperity of imperial rule, spread widely. Such syncretic images of Isis and Fortuna can be found all over the Mediterranean basin in sculptures and coroplastics. According to B. Lichocka, the statue represents type 1A with attributes such as a cornucopia in the left hand and a ship’s rudder in the right.

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