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Steelyard weight in the form of a female head

Steelyard weight in the form of a female bust, probably identifiable as the goddess Isis. The iconography is of Hellenistic type. The goddess wears a headdress, possibly a modius flanked by two feathers and a solar disc (?). A suspension loop is present on top of the head. The figure wears a wig rendered in individual tresses. The goddess is dressed in a draped chiton and a himation covering the shoulders. The back of the bust is hollow, probably intended to accommodate the lower part of the weight, which is now missing. A thin metal bar has been inserted into the reverse of the bust in modern times. The object is made in the lost-wax technique for solid casts.

Cat. 7166
Metal / Bronze
332–30 BCE
Hellenistic period
Unknown
Old Fund, 1824–1888
Not on display
Museo Egizio