There appears to be an interesting connection between dwarfs and gold the underworld and blacksmiths and good fortune They are present in ancient mythology as well as in old folktales here are some of the examples I’ve found.
Bes, the Egyptian god of fortune, childbirth and happiness was a popular god largely worshipped in the home. He was associated with Tawaret the hippopotamus goddess of childbirth hence he is the god that presides over childbirth. He was the god of happiness and associated with dancing, and dancing girls tattooed his image on their bodies.
Bes the Egyptian god Hephaestus Greek god Vanama Hindu incarnation
Of good fortune of fire and blacksmiths of Vishnu
Ptah, is the Egyptian god of craftsman and architects he is regarded as the god who designed the universe and the world by just a thought in his head. He was primarily worshipped in Memphis with his wife Sekhmet and his son Nefertem. He was also thought to be the father of Imhotep, Ptah is also considered to be a dwarf god. The name Hiukptah meaning the “soul of Ptah” was transformed into the word Ageyptus by the Greeks or Egypt which it still carries today.
Vulcan the roman god of fire, bakers, smiths and volcanoes where his workshops are said to dwell. His counterpart was the Greek Hephestaus, Greeks also compared this god to the Egyptian god ptah. He was the son of Jupiter and Juno, his mother however was horrified at his appearance as he was born small and shrivelled in comparison to Jupiter’s daughter Minerva goddess of wisdom, who was born from Jupiter’s first marriage and was by far his most powerful child. Juno threw Vulcan over Mount Olympus where he landed into the sea further crippling him, he was cared for by Thetis leader of the nereids(mermaids). He later got his revenge on his mother by trapping her in a golden throne he only let her loose for a seat on Olympus and for the hand of Venus Goddess of love and beauty in marriage though Juno probably got the last laugh on that one as Venus much preferred his brother mars god of war. Earliest offerings to this god depicted him in statue form as a dwarf like character.
Other dwarf like deities included Vanama the fifth avatar of Vishnu he defeated the demon king Bali and crossed the three worlds. Kubera, god of wealth the King of Lanka and brother of Ravana who kidnapped Sita may have been a dwarf like Deity.