Statuette of a figure bearing an enthroned Imhotep. The main figure holds the seated deity in front of his chest with both hands. He wears a bag wig tucked behind his ears, his arms and chest bare, an animal pelt draped over his proper left shoulder and tucked into the tubular garment hanging from beneath his chest to just above the knees. The figure's hands extend forward to support the underside of the divine Imhotep's throne, with each finger individually rendered. The deity is seated on a decorated throne, with incised motifs on either side. A papyrus scroll rests in his lap, inscribed with hieroglyphs giving his name as 'Imhotep'. Carved in the round, the piece includes an uninscribed dorsal pillar at the back. Minor scuffing and chips, the head of the deity broken off, the lower section of the statuette broken away, otherwise intact.

The term theophorous, meaning "god bearer" in Greek, refers to a type of sculpture in which the subject carries a small figure of a deity, symbolising the dedicant's devotion to, or personal connection with, the god. The identity of the deity is confirmed by the hieroglyphic inscription on the papyrus scroll resting in his lap, with the text facing outward toward the viewer, as if the god is directly addressing the observer.

Imhotep was a prominent official during Egypt’s 3rd Dynasty of the Old Kingdom, who was posthumously deified and worshipped from the Late Period onwards, approximately two millennia after his death. In his lifetime, he served as a distinguished scholar, vizier to King Djoser, priest of Ptah, high priest of the sun god Ra, and is believed to have been the architect behind Djoser's Step Pyramid at Saqqara, the first pyramid constructed in Egypt. Revered as a patron of medicine, writing, and scholarship, Imhotep was commonly depicted as a scribe, shown with a skull-cap or shaven head, and holding a papyrus scroll. This sculpture likely served as a votive offering in a temple or sanctuary dedicated to the god.