A 2,700-year-old bronze representation of Ptah, the ancient Egyptian creator god and master architect, attracted attention at London’s Frieze Masters for a possible connection to Hollywood. Antiquities dealer Rupert Wace has suggested that the sculpture may have helped inspire the Oscar statuette, which art director Cedric Gibbons designed in 1928. The proposed link rests on both the figures’ visual resemblance and a connection between their histories.
While investigating the bronze’s provenance, or ownership history, ahead of the fair, Wace established that it had belonged to newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. Gibbons was Hearst’s friend and a frequent visitor to his properties in California and New York, where Hearst maintained a room dedicated to his Egyptian collection. Wace argues that these circumstances make the resemblance particularly intriguing, although he acknowledges that the theory cannot be proved. Gibbons, who died in 1960, never directly confirmed what had inspired his celebrated design. The suggested influence therefore remains a possibility rather than an established explanation.
Beyond the proposed Hollywood association, Wace praised the bronze’s quality and collecting history. It dates from ancient Egypt’s Late Period, shortly before the conquest by the Achaemenid Persian Empire. The statuette found a buyer on the opening day of Frieze Masters, with the sale price undisclosed. Held in Regent’s Park from 14 to 18 October 2026, the fair hosted an estimated 60,000 people. For Wace, the possible Oscar connection adds to the appeal of an already significant ancient artwork.
