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Statuette of Ptah 7th-6th centuries B.C. Cast bronze Height: 17.5 cm Ptah was the god of Memphis, the capital of the Old Kingdom (27th-22nd centuries B.C.), and one of the most ancient Egyptian deities. He was considered the patron of crafts, and his high priest bore the title "Great Director of Craftsmen". Possibly Ptah's connection with handicrafts was what led to him becoming the creator god who had existed before the world began. According to one text (known as "the Memphite Theological Treatise"), he created the world by means of the word, giving names to everything that had to appear. Already in the Old Kingdom, Ptah became identified with several gods of the dead - Sokar, Tatenen and Osiris. Ptah was always depicted in human guise, as a mummiform figure, wrapped in shrouds. Ptah's wife was the goddess Sekhmet, their son the god Nefertum. The deified architect and sage Imhotep was also called a son of Ptah. The sacred bull Apis was a manifestation of Ptah.
Copyright © 2011 State Hermitage Museum
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