Statuette of Imhotep, in bronze

The wise priest was an important figure in ancient Egyptian literature and in community life. Some of these highly educated and influential men became so renowned that they were remembered long after their deaths and even worshipped as if they were gods. Imhotep was one of these deified priests, and this statuette shows him in the conventional pose and dress of his status. He wears a long skirt, a beaded collar, and sits on a chair that is shaped like a shrine, with his feet resting on a box-like footstool. On his lap, he holds open a papyrus scroll as if reading a sacred text. A row of hieroglyphs on the scroll in fact give his own name: ‘Imhotep, the eldest son of Ptah’, who was the god of artists, craftspeople, and creation. Gilding on the eyes indicates Imhotep’s own deified status, and other parts of the statuette may have been gilded, too.

Like his divine father, Imhotep was associated with Saqqara, southwest of modern Cairo and south of the famous pyramids of Giza. Saqqara had its own pyramid, the so-called Step Pyramid where King Djoser was buried (c. 2600 BC). Imhotep is sometimes described as the architect of the Step Pyramid, but there is no evidence from the time of Djoser to link Imhotep to this monument, nor is it known where Imhotep himself was buried. However, Saqqara is home to a vast expanse of tombs and temples from every period of Egyptian history, including the Late Period from which this statuette dates. Bronze statuettes of gods, goddesses, sacred animals and priest-figures like Imhotep, were made and deposited as offerings at temples, perhaps to accompany a prayer or thank the gods for answering one. Archaeologists have found thousands of these statuettes at Saqqara and other sites.

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