Statuette of Imhotep
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Object Label
Imhotep, an official of King Djoser in Dynasty 3, supervised the construction of the earliest known monumental stone structure, the Step Pyramid.
Over many centuries, ancient Egyptian reverence for Imhotep's wisdom grew until, by the Late Period, he was worshiped as a god. Images of the divine Imhotep show him dressed as an official. This statuette, from more than two thousand years after Imhotep's time, depicts him seated and holding a papyrus scroll.
Caption
Statuette of Imhotep, 381–30 B.C.E.. Coppery alloy, 6 15/16 × 2 3/16 × 4 5/8 in. (17.7 × 5.5 × 11.7 cm) H. w/tang: 7 9/16 in. (19.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 36.623. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 36.623_front_PS20.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Gallery
Not on view
Title
Statuette of Imhotep
Date
381–30 B.C.E.
Dynasty
Dynasty 30, or later
Period
Late Period to Ptolemaic Period
Medium
Coppery alloy
Classification
Dimensions
6 15/16 × 2 3/16 × 4 5/8 in. (17.7 × 5.5 × 11.7 cm) H. w/tang: 7 9/16 in. (19.2 cm)
Credit Line
Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
Accession Number
36.623
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
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