Statue of the God Ptah

Under Amenhotep III, who reigned from 1390 to 1353 BC, the sculptors who carved the gods gave them the face of the reigning king. This is Ptah, the god of Memphis, the old capital in the north, and the patron of craftsmen. He is shown as he usually was, wrapped close like a mummy, with a tight cap on his head.

The face is the king's. The museum recognises Amenhotep III's official portrait in it, round and youthful, almost feminine, with full cheeks, a broad smiling mouth and fleshy lips. The long almond eyes are drawn out with make-up lines, and the outline of the lips is raised in relief, two features the museum calls especially typical. The statue was found at Karnak, across the country from Ptah's own city. At Memphis his consort was Sekhmet, the lion goddess whose statues from the same reign fill this room.