Chryselephantine Sculpture
History, Characteristics of Ivory and Gold
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Chryselephantine Sculpture
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Chryselephantine Sculpture (Ancient Greece)Contents • What
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What is Chryselephantine Sculpture? In plastic art, the term "chryselephantine" (derived from the Greek words "khrusos/chrysos" gold, and "elephantinos" ivory) describes a type of sculpture made from gold and ivory. The gold was normally used for the statue's drapery, while the ivory was used for the flesh. In classical Greek sculpture, chryselephantine statues were considered to be the highest form of plastic art, and were reserved for only the most important works of religious art. The two most famous chryselephantine statues - both by Phidias (488-431 BCE) - were sculpted during the era of High Classical Greek Sculpture (c.450-400 BCE). One was the 40-foot tall statue of Athena Parthenos (or Promachos) (begun 447 BCE) at the Parthenon in Athens; the other was the 36-foot tall Statue of Zeus (c.432 BCE) at Olympia, which became one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The term "chryselephantine" acquired a looser meaning during the modern era, when it was extended to include any sculpture made from a combination of ivory and other materials, such as gold, silver, bronze, marble, or onyx. |
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The origins of chryselephantine sculpture remain obscure. The earliest known examples are believed to date from the 2nd Millennium BCE, were gold and ivory statues of Aegean art from areas that became part of the Greek world, most famously the masterpiece of Minoan art known as the "Palaikastro Kouros" from Crete. The chryselephantine technique was also practised on a small scale in Egyptian sculpture as well as Mesopotamian sculpture, and was also known to Mycenean art. Later, it became more widespread in Archaic Greek Sculpture (c.600-480 BCE), and especially during the Classical period (c.480-323) when gold and ivory were sometimes used to decorate Acrolithitic statues - that is, statues with a body made of wood, covered with drapery, and head, hands, and feet in stone. Most chryselephantine sculptures were colossal cult figures which stood in major temples or sanctuaries.
Chryselephantine Statues: Characteristics Chryselephantine statues were typically fabricated around a wooden frame, to which carved sheets of ivory were attached, representing the flesh, and thin sheets of gold leaf representing the armour, drapery, hair, and other physical details. In addition, pieces of coloured glass, as well as precious and semi-precious stones were used to highlight eyes and weaponry. In addition to looking magnificent, Chryselephantine statues also represented the wealth and cultural status of their makers. Not only did they cost a huge amount of money, but also they involved a number of master-craftsmen, with skills in ivory carving, sculpture, goldsmithing, carpentry and jewellery art, and - once finished - needed constant maintenance. Moreover, to minimize the financial burden, the statues were constructed in a modular way so that some of the gold could be removed from the sculpture and melted down for coinage in times of austerity, to be replaced later when finances recovered. The figure of Nike in the right hand of the Athena Parthenos, for instance, was fashioned from pure gold for this very reason. Inevitably, because Chryselephantine statues were so valuable, most were dismantled for their precious materials or melted down during classical antiquity or the early Medieval era. The statue of Athena Parthenos, for example, has disappeared completely, and is known only from the detailed description given by the Greek explorer Pausanias (active 143-176 CE), corroborated by several miniature copies, including one on display at the National Archeological Museum of Athens. The Palaikastro Kouros (1480-1425 BCE) The statue known as the "Palaikastro Kouros" was named after its discovery site in eastern Crete. Dating to the late Bronze Age, it is one of the oldest surviving examples of chryselephantine figurative sculpture, and comprises a male youth, carved from a hippopotamus tooth, and ornamented in gold. Its hair is made of serpentine, its eyes from rock crystal. It was excavated gradually, piece by piece (1987-90), from a sanctuary at the Minoan settlement of Roussolakkos, an important centre of early Cretan culture, having lain undisturbed since the destruction of the sanctuary, by fire, in the 15th century BCE. The style of the statuette was heavily influenced by Egyptian art of the New Kingdom. The Statue of Athena Parthenos (begun 447) A famous treasure of Greek art, the Athena Parthenos ("Athena the Virgin") was a monumental chryselephantine cult statue of the Greek goddess Athena, made by Phidias and several assistants. It consisted of an upright Athena holding a winged figure of Nike (Goddess of Victory) in her cupped right hand, while her left hand supports her shield and lance. On her head she wears an ornamental helmet or headdress, decorated with a sphinx and two Pegasi. Clothed in an Athenian peplos, her breastplate on her upper chest is embellished with snakes and an image of the legendary figure of Medusa. The statue was erected in the Parthenon Temple (447-422) on the Acropolis in Athens. Indeed, the main function of the Parthenon was to house the statue, probably the most famous cult image in Athens, and one of the most renowned examples of sculpture from ancient Greece. Although its gold sheets (weighing some 1,100 kilograms/2,400 pounds) were replaced by gilded bronze, and much of it was repaired, the statue continued to stand in the Parthenon until Roman troops removed it during the 5th century CE. There is some evidence to suggest it was taken to Constantinople, where it served as an inspiration for Byzantine art. Today, the most authentic copies of the statue are The Varvakeion Athena, and the unfinished Lenormant Athena. Others are in the Louvre, the Museo Nazionale Romano in Rome and in Nashville, Tennessee. Replica Parthenon: Nashville, Tennessee A full-scale replica of the Greek Parthenon is located in Nashville, Tennessee: it was constructed in 1897 as part of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition. Inside the naos of the temple is a modern 41-foot copy of the cult statue of Athena Parthenos, which was created by the American sculptor Alan LeQuire in the 1980s, and unveiled in 1990. The work is made from gypsum cement and ground fiberglass, covering a steel and aluminium frame. Instead of heavy and expensive gold plates, LeQuire gilded the statue with 23.75-carat gold leaf, roughly one-third the thickness of tissue paper. The whole work was based on meticulous research to ensure the closest resemblance to Phidias's original statue. In fact the entire Parthenon temple itself - now with original-style polychrome decorations - is a unique monument to one of the greatest examples of Greek architecture during the era of classical antiquity. The Statue of Zeus (430-422 BCE) The Statue of Zeus at Olympia was a monumental chryselephantine sculpture of a seated figure, some 42-feet in height, carved by the Greek sculptor Phidias for the Temple of Zeus, at the sanctuary of Olympia. According to a description of the work by Pausanias, the figure of Zeus - made from gold and ivory panels covering a wooden frame - was depicted sitting on a cedarwood throne. In his right hand, Zeus held a small gold and ivory statue of Nike, goddess of victory, and in his left, a sceptre embellished with gold, topped by an eagle. The statue was decorated with ebony, gems and precious stones, and was considered to be one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World until its destruction in the 5th century CE, during the collapse of the Roman Empire. No copies of the statue have ever been found. - Greatest Sculptors
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