This splendidly heavy weight--a token from the twilight years of the pagan world--is sculpted as a regal bust of Minerva, goddess of wisdom and war. She is shown wearing her aegis with the head of a Gorgon, and a magnificent crested helmet. The ring at the top would have attached the weight to a hook when it served as a counterbalance to some unknown commodity. Since Athena's (the Greek name for Minerva) gift to the ancient city of Athens was the olive, it would perhaps be a logical guess that this was the item this majestic goddess once weighed. How wonderful that such a practical object should have been imbued with the beauty of a work of art.