Bronze figurine of an Apis bull

3D Model

BLMJ 03928 Late or Ptolemaic period, ca. 712-30 BCE. Egypt

Bronze figurine of an Apis bull with an electrum inlay

The ancient Egyptians equated the bull’s virility with the creative powers of Ptah, the chief god of Memphis. They searched the land for a bullock with over two dozen distinctive characteristics and installed that animal in a special sekos or farm palace, as the Apis bull, associated with Ptah. When the bull died, it was mummified, adorned with jewels and amulets, and buried with honors in the Serapeum, a special cemetery set aside for these animals.