<em>Overseer of the Treasury, Ptahhotep</em>, 521-486 B.C.E. Quartzite, 35 × 12 × 13 in., 252 lb. (88.9 × 30.5 × 33 cm, 114.31kg). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.353. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , 37.353_PS9.jpg)

Overseer of the Treasury, Ptahhotep, 521-486 B.C.E. Quartzite, 35 × 12 × 13 in., 252 lb. (88.9 × 30.5 × 33 cm, 114.31kg). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.353. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , 37.353_PS9.jpg)

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Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.

What happened to the rest of this?

It's quite simply very old! This sculpture of a man named Ptahhotep is over 2500 years old and it got a little beaten up since then. We don't know where the broken off pieces are.

Did they melt the sandstone to make the statute and chisel it?

In ancient sculpture, the stone would not be melted. Rough shaping would be done with chisels, but the fine curves and polished surface that you see here would have been achieved with abrasives much like we use sandpaper today.

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Overseer of the Treasury, Ptahhotep

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

Ptahhotep is shown in a Persian costume that Egyptian officials adopted under the Persian rulers to imitate Persian court attire. The jacket with flaring sleeves, over which a skirt is wrapped, is complemented by a Persian bracelet and torque (a bar-like necklace) as well as by an Egyptian pectoral, or chest plaque. These accessories give Ptahhotep the overall appearance of an Egypto-Persian official, one whose dress speaks clearly of his loyalty to the Persian king. The rendering of the two ibexes that terminate the torque, however, is typically Egyptian, with the heads shown from the side. This treatment, together with the pectoral showing Ptah and the lion-headed goddess Sakhmet, underscores the essentially Egyptian nature of the statue.

MEDIUM Quartzite

GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATIONS

Possible place made: Memphis, Egypt
Possible place collected: Cairo, Egypt

DATES 521-486 B.C.E.

DYNASTY early Dynasty 27

PERIOD First Persian Period

DIMENSIONS 35 × 12 × 13 in., 252 lb. (88.9 × 30.5 × 33 cm, 114.31kg) mount (dimensions as installed): 36 × 12 × 13 in. (91.4 × 30.5 × 33 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 37.353

CREDIT LINE Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

PROVENANCE Archaeological provenance not yet documented, probably from the Temple of Ptah-Tenen, Memphis, Egypt; by 1937, acquired by Gregorie Loukianoff of Cairo, Egypt; 1937, purchased from Gregorie Loukianoff by Jean Capart for the Brooklyn Museum.

Provenance FAQ

CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Fragmentary, standing statue in dark grey stone of the overseer of all royal works, the chief of the treasury Ptah-hotep. Originally naophoros with naos supported by long, slender pedestal. Body clad in two garments, a shirt and long skirt. Persian torque around neck. Rear pillar inscribed with four columns of inscriptions. Condition: Poor. Head, base, feet hands naos lost. There are numerous scattered chips. Part of inscription missing. Left side of sculpture badly broken.

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view

CAPTION Overseer of the Treasury, Ptahhotep, 521-486 B.C.E. Quartzite, 35 × 12 × 13 in., 252 lb. (88.9 × 30.5 × 33 cm, 114.31kg). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.353. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , 37.353_PS9.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 37.353_PS9.jpg., 2018

"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

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.

RECORD COMPLETENESS

Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.

Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.

What happened to the rest of this?

It's quite simply very old! This sculpture of a man named Ptahhotep is over 2500 years old and it got a little beaten up since then. We don't know where the broken off pieces are.

Did they melt the sandstone to make the statute and chisel it?

Thanks