Course: The Metropolitan Museum of Art > Unit 1
Lesson 3: Devotion- Rossellino, Madonna and Child with Angels
- Pensive Bodhisattva
- Curtain of the Tabernacle
- Berlinghiero, Madonna and Child
- Plaque with the Journey to Emmaus and Noli Me Tangere
- Rembrandt, The Last Supper, after Leonardo da Vinci
- Bassano’s The Baptism of Christ
- Relief of the Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus
- Cult Image of the God Ptah
- Plaque with Censing Angels
- Mahakala, Protector of the Tent
- Blake, The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins
Cult Image of the God Ptah
Met curator Diana Craig Patch on language without words in Cult Image of the God Ptah, dating from Egypt’s Third Intermediate Period, c. 945–600 B.C.E.
This statuette depicts Ptah, the chief god of Egypt's capital city Memphis, who is easy to identify by his tight-fitting cap and enveloping shroud. Other iconographic details, such as the royal beard, the large and detailed broad collar, the scepter of merged "was" and "djed" signs, and a platform representing the hieroglyph for universal order, as well as the brilliant blue stone, communicate four important epithets: Lord of Lower Egypt, Master Craftsman, Lord of Truth, and Lord of the Sky.
The superior carving of the god's face, scepter, and jewelry is astonishing for a piece of such diminutive size and hard stone. Its style and quality suggests the sculpture was made in a royal workshop and most likely intended for use as a votive piece in Ptah's large temple at Memphis or in a small shrine dedicated to the god elsewhere in Egypt.
View this work on metmuseum.org.
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- Was the fools gold embedded by the artist, or is pyrite naturally found in this rare blue stone?(4 votes)
- Wasn't Ptah also described as a blue skinned man or green skinned, so the choice of material isn't just the water but the deities color. Wonder if there's any relationship with Vishnu.(1 vote)