Chryselephantine sculpture (from Greek χρυσός, chrysós, 'gold', and ελεφάντινος, elephántinos, 'ivory') is a sculpture made with gold and ivory. Chryselephantine cult statues enjoyed high status in Ancient Greece.
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The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
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Let's talk about the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. This was a list created by Antipater of Sidon, a Greek poet living in the second century BC, of all the must-see colossal structures of the Ancient World. He actually only compiled six of those. The list was expanded to seven in the 16th century AD. Let's see if we can name them all.The first Wonder were the Great Pyramids of Giza, the only monument still around today. They were built around 2500 BC and within 75 years of each other. The biggest and oldest one was built for Pharaoh Khufu, the next one for Khafre (his son) and the smallest one for Menkaure (his grandson, all 4th dynasty). The three pyramids were part of a vast funerary complex that included temples, chapels, mastabas and causeways linking the structures. The pyramids had to be finished in the life time of the pharaoh whose body they were supposed to receive. They were a vehicle to transport the king's body safely into the afterlife. The Egyptians believed that if the king's body were to perish, their whole civilization would disappear. The second Wonder of the Ancient World were the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, made around 600 BC. The Hanging Gardens were not the only World Wonder in Babylon; the city walls and Obelisk attributed to Queen Semiramis were also featured in ancient lists of Wonders. The gardens were attributed to the Neo-Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II, who ruled between 605 and 562 BC. He constructed the gardens to please his homesick wife Amytis of Media, who longed for the plants of her homeland. These gardens were first described by Berossus, a Babylonian priest who lived in the 4th century BC. The Roman author Flavius Josephus (ca. 37 -- 100 AD) quoted these writings. In it the size of the gardens, and why and how they were built was discussed, as well as the irrigation system that was used. Here is a quote by Josephus: "In this palace he erected very high walks, supported by stone pillars; and by planting what was called a pensile paradise, and replenishing it with all sorts of trees, he rendered the prospect an exact resemblance of a mountainous country. This he did to gratify his queen, because she had been brought up in Media, and was fond of a mountainous situation." The third Wonder of the Ancient World was the Temple of Artemis at Ephesos, built around 550 BC. This temple to Diana predated ionic immigration by many years, being even older than the oracular shrine of Apollo at Didyma. It was destroyed and rebuilt many times, but eventually destroyed during the third or fourth century AD by the Goths. The fourth Wonder of the Ancient World was the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, erected around 430 BC. The Statue of Zeus at Olympia was a giant seated figure, about 13 m (42 ft) tall, made by the Greek sculptor Phidias in circa 430-422 BC at the sanctuary of Olympia. It was a chryselephantine sculpture, which means it was plated with ivory and gold panels over a wooden core. No copy of the statue has ever been found, and details of its form are known only from ancient Greek descriptions and representations on coins. The fifth Wonder was the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, 350 BC. This was the Tomb of Mausolus, a satrap (or governor) in the Persian Empire. His sister Artemisia of Caria, who was also his wife, had the tomb built. The structure was designed by the Greek architects Satyros and Pythius of Priene. Artemisia spared no expense for this extravagant grave site. The tomb was erected on a hill overlooking the city. It was nearly 45 m (148 ft.) tall. It was destroyed in 1494 by an earthquake.The sixth Wonder of the Ancient World was the Colossus of Rhodes, built around 290 BC. This was a statue of the Greek Titan Helios, erected on the Greek island of Rhodes, by Chares of Lindos between 292 and 280 BC. It was constructed to celebrate Rhodes' victory over the ruler of Cyprus, Antigonus I, whose son unsuccessfully besieged Rhodes in 305 BC. The Colossus of Rhodes stood over 30 meters (98.4 ft) high, making it one of the tallest statues of the ancient world. The last Wonder of the Ancient World was the Lighthouse of Alexandria, built around 280 BC. This structure was also called Pharos of Alexandria. It was a lofty tower built by the Ptolemaic Kingdom on the island of Pharos. It was probably about 140 m tall (450 feet), and was for a long time one of the tallest man-made structures on Earth. In 1994, French archeologists discovered some remains of the lighthouse on the floor of Alexandria's Eastern Harbor.
Ancient examples
Chryselephantine statues were built around a wooden frame with thin carved slabs of ivory attached, representing the flesh, and sheets of gold leaf representing the garments, armour, hair, and other details. In some cases, glass paste, glass, and precious and semi-precious stones were used for detail such as eyes, jewellery, and weaponry.
The origins of the technique are obscure. There are known examples, from the 2nd millennium BC, of composite sculptures made of ivory and gold from areas that became part of the Greek world, most famously the so-called "Palaikastro Kouros" (not to be confused with the Archaic Kouros statues), from Minoan Palaikastro, c. 1450 BC. It is likely the only enshrined Minoan cult image that has survived.[1] It is, however, not clear whether the Greek chryselephantine tradition is connected with these.
Chryselephantine sculpture became widespread during the Archaic period. Later, acrolithitic statues, with marble heads and extremities and a wooden trunk either gilded or covered in drapery, were a comparable technique used for cult images.
The technique was normally used for cult statues within temples; typically, they were greater than life-sized. Construction was modular, so that some of the gold could be removed and melted for coin or bullion in times of severe financial hardship, to be replaced later when finances had recovered. For example, the figure of Nike held in the right hand of Phidias's Athena Parthenos was made from solid gold with this very purpose in mind. Indeed, in times of prosperity, up to six solid gold Nikae were cast,[citation needed] serving as a "sacred treasury" whose safety was ensured by the sanctity accorded to a cult object, as well as the presence of priestesses, priests, and maintenance staff at the temple.
The two best-known examples, both from the Classical period, are those sculpted by Phidias: the 13-metre tall (43 ft) standing statue of Athena Parthenos in the Parthenon at Athens, and the 12-metre (39 ft) seated statue of Zeus in the temple at Olympia, considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Chryselephantine statues were not only intended to be visually striking; they also displayed the wealth and cultural achievements of those who constructed them or financed their construction. The creation of such a statue involved skills in sculpture, carpentry, jewellery, and ivory-carving. Once completed, the statues required constant maintenance. It is known that at Olympia, skilled personnel were employed to ensure the upkeep of the Zeus statue. In the second century BC, the prominent sculptor Damophon of Messene was commissioned to repair it.
Due to the high value of some of the materials used and the perishable nature of others, most chryselephantine statues were destroyed during antiquity and the Middle Ages. For example, of the statue of Athena Parthenos, only the hole that held its central wooden support survives today in the floor of her temple. The appearance of the statue is nevertheless known from a number of miniature marble copies discovered in Athens, as well as from a detailed description by Pausanias. Pausanias also described Phidias's statue of Zeus at Olympia. Here, some of the clay moulds for parts of Zeus's garments made of glass or glass-paste have been discovered in the building known as the "Workshop of Phidias". They are the only finds directly associated with the great sculptor's most famous works and thus provide useful information on their creation.
Few examples of chryselephantine sculpture have been found. The most prominent surviving examples are fragments of several smaller than life-sized burnt statues from the Archaic period, discovered at Delphi. It is not known whom they depict, although they are assumed to represent deities.
Modern examples
The term chryselephantine is also used for a style of sculpture fairly common in 19th-century European art, especially Art Nouveau. In this context, it describes statuettes with skin of ivory and clothing and other details made of other materials, such as gold, bronze, marble, silver, or onyx. For instance, circa 1840 the sculptor Pierre-Charles Simart produced a copy in ivory and gold, based on ancient descriptions, of the Athena Parthenos of Phidias for patron Honoré Théodoric d'Albert de Luynes. The result was somewhat disappointing: "... it cost Luynes a hundred thousand francs to prove that Simart was not Phidias."[2] Another 19th-century version of this figure by American sculptor Alan LeQuire stands in the modern reproduction of the Parthenon in Nashville, Tennessee. After the 1890s, reflecting the change that Simart and some sculptors had already embraced, the meaning of chryselephantine was extended to include any statue fashioned in a combination of ivory with other materials.[3]
In the early 20th century, German sculptors Ferdinand Preiss and Franz Iffland became well known for their chryselephantine sculptures. A number of other European sculptors also produced chryselephantine pieces, among them Joé Descomps, Josef Lorenzl, Georges Omerth, Claire J. R. Colinet, Pierre Le Faguays, D. H. Chiparus, Bruno Zach, and Dominique Alonzo.[4]
See also
References
- Lapatin, Kenneth D. S. (2001). Chryselephantine statuary in the ancient Mediterranean world. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-815311-2.
- ^ Hemingway, Seán, Art of the Aegean Bronze Age, 31, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, Spring 2012 Volume LXIX, Number 4
- ^ "... il en coûta cent mille francs au duc de Luynes pour prouver que Simart ne fut pas Phidias." Boissieu 1869:260.
- ^ Art Nouveau Sculpture, Alastair Duncan.
- ^ Catley, Bryan (1978). Art Deco and Other Figures (1st ed.). Woodbridge, England: Antique Collectors' Club Ltd. pp. 1–398. ISBN 978-1-85149-382-1.
This page was last edited on 23 May 2024, at 23:56