Chryselephantine
The adjective chryselephantin ( ancient Greek χρυσός chrysós “ gold ”; ἔλεφας élephas , genitive ἐλέφαντος eléphantos , “ elephant ”, “ ivory ”) stands for a work of art made of gold and ivory .
The technique was particularly widespread in ancient Greece and goes back to the 15th century BC. BC back. An approximately 50 cm high late Minoan figure, the kouros from Palaikastro , is made of wood , gold sheet, ivory, serpentine and lead crystal . The sculptures had a wooden core, which was covered with ivory plates (for the skin) and (often in parts) removable pieces of gold (for clothing, shoes, hair). The further decoration was realized with precious stones , precious metals , also glass , glass paste and painting .
The most famous gold ivory statues of antiquity were the Zeus statue of Phidias in the Temple of Zeus in Olympia and the Athena Parthenos in the Parthenon in Athens , both by the Greek sculptor Phidias .
In a broader sense, the term also describes many other combinations of metallic and non-metallic materials in sculpture , as they came into fashion from the French centers of ivory carving since the early 19th century. The sculptures made of ivory and bronze , which were often combined with other materials such as paint, enamel and lapis lazuli , are of particular importance in terms of art history in the Art Deco era .
literature
- Richard Neudecker: gold ivory technique. In: The New Pauly (DNP). Volume 4, Metzler, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-476-01474-6 , Sp. 1140-1142.
- Kenneth Lapatin: Chryselephantine statuary in the Ancient Mediterranean World. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2001, ISBN 0-19-815311-2 .
