CIRCA 2ND CENTURY A.D.

The absence of preserved attributes renders the identification of this goddess uncertain. Although Kybele – the Anatolian mother goddess whose cult reached Athens in the 5th century B.C. – is often shown enthroned, the lack of lions flanking her throne or seated on her lap, or a polos surmounting her head, would argue against this identification (compare the figure in New York, inv no. 22.139.24, fig 119 in P. Zanker, et al., Roman Art : A Guide through the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Collection). The remains of a support high on her proper left arm would indicate that an adjunct was once attached here. If it was a cornucopia, then Fortuna or Ceres may have been the intended subject (see the seated figure of Fortuna in the Antikensammlung Berlin, inv. no. SK 155, Arachne Online Database no. 1121708). Finally, the figure’s diadem and veil recall depictions of Juno, who is shown seated alongside Jupiter and Minerva in the Capitoline Triad, which is another possible identification for this goddess.