Origin: Memphis, Egypt
Circa: 664 BC to 525 BC
Dimensions: 1.875" (4.8cm) high x 2.75" (7.0cm) wide
Catalogue: V8
Collection: Egyptian Antiquities
Style: 26th Dynasty
Medium: Bronze
This masterfully carved, recumbent bull is a manifestation of the ancient Egyptian deity Ptah, the god of Memphis who created the world by "thinking the thought and speaking the word". The Apis bull was a herald or messenger of Ptah who was called the "living Apis, the herald of Ptah, who carries truth upwards to him of the lovely face (Ptah)." In Memphis a living bull was chosen for its special markings, as the representation of the Apis bull and when it died another bull with the same markings was found. The Apis bull was kept at Memphis at a temple dedicated to the bull, with the temple of Ptah located close by. This spirited bronze bull rests atop a bronze base, inscribed with hieroglyphs. The front of the base reads, Iwenet-Menkhet, translated as "Denderah is splendid". Denderah was one of the cult sites for the ancient Egyptian deity Hathor, who was, among other things, the guardian of the mountain of the dead on the left bank at Memphis. The side of the base reads, "Iwenet-Menkhet, given life. One who gives offerings to Hathor. One who builds a shrine." The symbolic hieroglyphs and the sculpted bull combine to give tangible evidence of the devotion that the ancient population of Memphis had toward their god Ptah and their goddess Hathor. - (FZ.282)

Antiquities
Ancient Egyptian