Although tiny (only about 5cm in height), this is a striking lapis lazuli ๐๐ด๐๐ง๐ง statuette of the creator god ๐น Ptah ๐ช๐๐๐ฑ. Ptah ๐ช๐๐๐ฑ is easily recognized, and I always called him the โbald godโ as a kid even though he isnโt necessarily bald – he is wearing a cap on his head! Ptah ๐ช๐๐๐ฑ has always been a favorite of mine because he is so fascinating!

Lapis lazuli ๐๐ด๐๐ง๐ง is a very hard ๐๐๐๐ญ stone ๐๐๐๐ช and is very difficult to work with, so that only makes the very tiny details such as the beard ๐๐๐๐ ฑ๐ (the only god ๐น to be consistently depicted with one) and the broad collar ๐ ฑ๐ด๐๐บ๐ even more impressive! Although itโs hard to see, the staff that Ptah ๐ช๐๐๐ฑ is holding in his hands is actually a merging of the Djed Pillar ๐ฝ and the Was Scepter ๐. The hieroglyph ๐น๐ for Djed ๐ฝ means โstabilityโ while the hieroglyph ๐น๐ for the Was Scepter ๐ means โstrength.โ
Ptah ๐ช๐๐๐ฑ was not created; he existed before anyone else and anything. In short, he was the creator of the other creator gods ๐น๐น๐น, like Atum ๐๐๐๐ญ. Due to Ptahโs ๐ช๐๐๐ฑ creativity, he is also the designated god ๐น of all forms of craftsman such as carpenters , shipbuilders, potters, metalworkers, and sculptors. Imhotep ๐๐ ๐ต๐๐ช, the famous architect of the Step Pyramid (the first pyramid ๐๐ ๐๐ด built in Egypt ๐๐ ๐๐) is said to be the direct son ๐ ญ of Ptah ๐ช๐๐๐ฑ due to his incredible work! There is so much I can say about Ptah ๐ช๐๐๐ฑ, but Instagram captions can only be so long!
This piece is estimated to be from the Third Intermediate Period โ early Dynasty 26 (c. 945โ600 B.C.E.). Since it is such a high quality piece, it is most likely that it was meant for use in Ptahโs ๐ช๐๐๐ฑ large temple ๐๐๐ at Memphis ๐ ๐๐ค๐๐๐ด๐(Ptah ๐ช๐๐๐ฑ was the chief god ๐น of Memphis ๐ ๐๐ค๐๐๐ด๐). Ptah ๐ช๐๐๐ฑ was worshipped ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ข at Memphis ๐ ๐๐ค๐๐๐ด๐ from the Old Kingdom forward.