This bronze votive plaque bears a representation of the Greek goddess Tyche (known to the Romans as Fortuna). She faces the viewer, prepared to receive obeisance and the veneration owed her. Atop her head, she wears the classical turreted crown associated with the goddess Tyche, from which hangs a veil. Her hair is parted at the middle and swept back, with long, regal plaits descending upon her shoulders at each side. Her garments assume a V-shape at her neckline. Her countenance is somewhat simple in its celestial nobility. Her face is round and her eyes deeply set. The stylization of the plaque bears elements of Roman provincial origin, perhaps from Asia Minor.Votive items such as these, minute representations of deities, were often placed in personal shrines and kept by individuals or households for devotional purposes. Such an object might have adorned the home of a Roman family as an expression of the Roman virtue of piety, to please and satisfy all of the gods and thereby bring peace and prosperity to the family and all the Roman people. The goddess, Tyche is a very apropos recipient of such piety, being the goddess that dispensed fortune. Often assimilated with other Greco-Roman deities, such as Isis, this goddess was indicative of the syncretism that characterized the religious landscape of the imperial period. Each city was believed to have its own Tyche, her turreted crown being evocative of her role as protectress of cities.

Antiquities
Ancient Roman