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<em>Statuette of Imhotep</em>, 381–30 B.C.E. Coppery alloy, 6 15/16 × 2 3/16 × 4 5/8 in. (17.7 × 5.5 × 11.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 36.623. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 36.623_front_PS20.jpg)
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). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 36.623. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 36.623_front_PS20.jpg)
<em>Statuette of Imhotep</em>, 381–30 B.C.E. Coppery alloy, 6 15/16 × 2 3/16 × 4 5/8 in. (17.7 × 5.5 × 11.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 36.623. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 36.623_front_PS20.jpg)

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). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 36.623. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 36.623_front_PS20.jpg)

<em>Statuette of Imhotep</em>, 381–30 B.C.E. Coppery alloy, 6 15/16 × 2 3/16 × 4 5/8 in. (17.7 × 5.5 × 11.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 36.623. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 36.623_side_right_PS20.jpg)

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). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 36.623. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 36.623_side_right_PS20.jpg)

<em>Statuette of Imhotep</em>, 381–30 B.C.E. Coppery alloy, 6 15/16 × 2 3/16 × 4 5/8 in. (17.7 × 5.5 × 11.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 36.623. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 36.623_threequarter_PS20.jpg)

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). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 36.623. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 36.623_threequarter_PS20.jpg)

<em>Statuette of Imhotep</em>, 381–30 B.C.E. Coppery alloy, 6 15/16 × 2 3/16 × 4 5/8 in. (17.7 × 5.5 × 11.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 36.623. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 36.623_back_PS20.jpg)

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). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 36.623. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 36.623_back_PS20.jpg)

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Statuette of Imhotep

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

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.

MEDIUM Coppery alloy
DATES 381–30 B.C.E.
DYNASTY Dynasty 30, or later
PERIOD Late Period to Ptolemaic Period
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)  (show scale)
COLLECTIONS Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art
ACCESSION NUMBER 36.623
CREDIT LINE Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
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). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 36.623. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 36.623_front_PS20.jpg)
IMAGE front, 36.623_front_PS20.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2024
"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
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<em>Statuette of Imhotep</em>, 381–30 B.C.E. Coppery alloy, 6 15/16 × 2 3/16 × 4 5/8 in. (17.7 × 5.5 × 11.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 36.623. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 36.623_front_PS20.jpg)

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Egyptian

TAGS

Egyptian

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