statue of a Celtic goddess, probably Brigantia (Brigitte)

The Brigitte of Ménez-Hom, also called the Goddess of Ménez-Hom is a bronze statue discovered in 1913 in Dinéault, a commune in Finistère in western France. Dated to the second half of the first century CE, it is considered to be one of the oldest woman figurines from Brittany. It was discovered by chance by a farmer, Jean Labat, while ploughing his field. The sculpture measures about 70 cm (28 in) in height and is made from a ternary alloy of copper. Initially kept by Labat, the statue was later given to Antoine Vourc'h. When the latter died, his daughter, who had inherited it, wanted to give it to a German priest who intended to sell it to help an orphanage in Chile. Finally, with the help of a support committee, the departure of the statue to South America was prevented and the object was acquired by the Brittany Museum in Rennes in 1972. Professor of ancient history Gérard Moitrieux believes that the composition is similar to the figures of Minerva which were frequent in Gaul. However, Brest based archaeologist, historian and lecturer René Sanquer, who studied the statue, believes that it is a different from Minerva from Greco-Roman mythology, and identified her rather with the goddess Brigit found in Irish texts from the early Middle Ages and with Brigantia in Roman Britain.

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