A small bronze figure from ancient Egypt is about 2,700 years old. It shows Ptah, an Egyptian god. It drew attention at the Frieze Masters art fair in London. It looks like the Oscar, the famous movie award.
Art seller Rupert Wace found a possible link. Newspaper owner William Randolph Hearst once owned the figure. His friend Cedric Gibbons designed the Oscar in 1928. Gibbons often visited Hearst. Hearst had a room for Egyptian art in his New York home.
Did the figure give Gibbons his idea? Wace cannot prove it. Gibbons never said what gave him the idea. Someone bought the figure on the fair’s first day. The price is not public.
