File:Virgo Vestalis (Musgrave).jpg

English: "Penates (Household Gods) Dug Up at Devises in Our Belgium in the Year 1714, Table 6.

..Chief Vestal Virgin...

"9. Vestal Virgin. Length 3¼ in. Weight 7 oz.

"§. VIII. This Priest of VESTA, covered and robed in a stola so as to signify the Mystery and Holiness of her Religion, holds in her right hand a Patera, with which she shows herself ready to perform her Sacrifices, and in her left—as I believe—a Book of Rituals rolled up in the way of the ancients. There were many Rites and Ceremonies of the Vestals, those of students and of practicers and of teachers, which their Written Religion was intended to preserve for the masses.

A VESTAL was intended to be among the Penates or at least a companion of them. Macrobius states this. But with the Penates, it joins the Coins, one of which is shown in a Figure in Justus Lipsius's Syntagma on Vesta as well as a statue of the Chief Vestal, not unlike this Virgin of ours, which is—not without reason—similarly believed to display the Chief Vestal."

Notes: "To the Most Noble Prince Frederick, the destined Royal Heir, Great Britain's hope, Delight, and most yearned for Spirit, son of the Most High George and grandson of the Most August George, William Musgrave, Fellow (?) of Exeter College, Oxford, of his own will and in Obedience to his Oath wished these here Penates, hidden by the Earth for 1500 years, to be dedicated.

"These Penates [found] by William Cadby, Gardener at Devizes, engraved on Brass and printed on Imperial Paper, are available for sale at the Booksellers Knapton in London, Clements in Oxford, and Yeo in Exeter. 1717."

Figure 9 from Musgrave's 3rd illustration of the Southbroom Hoard discovered outside Devizes, Wiltshire, in 1714. This togate statue is now lost, while others from the hoard are held by the British Museum. Durham categorized it as #383. Musgrave identified the figure as a vestal virgin, taking the head covering to be the vestals' palla shawl. Scholars now consider it to have been a genius paterfamilias or genius familiae, the house idol of a family's protective spirit in Roman religious garb, a toga pulled to cover the head (capite velato). This is supported by the figure's pose, clothes, and its patera, the shallow bowl used for ritual drinking and offerings of wine.

See also:

• Emma Durham, "Depicting the Gods: Metal Figurines in Roman Britain", Internet Archaeology, No. 31, 2012.
• Emma Durham, "Style and Substance: Some Metal Figurines from South-West Britain", Britannia, No. 45, November 2014, pp. 195–221.