Chryselephantine Statuary in the Ancient Mediterranean WorldComposite statues of gold (chrysos), ivory (elephas), and other precious materials were the most celebrated artworks of classical antiquity. Greek and Latin authors leave no doubt that such images provided a centrepiece for religious and civic life and that vast sums were spent to produce them. A number of these statues were the creations of antiquity's most highly acclaimed artists: Polykleitos, Alkamenes, Leochares, and, of course, Pheidias, whose magnificent Zeus Olympios came to be ranked among the Seven Wonders of the World. Although a few individual images such as Pheidias' Athena Parthenos have been the subject of detailed scholarly analysis, chryselephantine statuary as a class, from the exquisite statuettes of Minoan Crete to the majestic temple images constructed by classical Greek city-states and imitated by the Romans, has not received comprehensive study since 1815. This book presents not only the ancient literary and epigraphical evidence for lost statues and examines representations of them in other media, but also assembles and analyses much-neglected physical survivals, elucidating throughout the innovative techniques, such as ivory-bending, employed in their production as well as the variety of social, religious, and political roles they played within the ancient societies that produced them. |
Contents
Materials and Techniques | 7 |
Chryselephantine Statuary in the Bronze Age | 22 |
c 1000500 BC | 38 |
The Pheidian Revolution | 61 |
In the Wake of Pheidias | 96 |
Chryselephantine Statuary in the Hellenistic and Roman Periods | 120 |
Conclusion | 134 |
Select Testimonia | 152 |
Appendices | 193 |
References | 200 |
Index of Ancient Passages | 224 |
Common terms and phrases
Aegean Agora Aigina akropolis Alkamenes ancient Aphrodite Apollo appears Archaic Argive Artemis Artemis Laphria Asklepios Athena Parthenos Athenian Barnett base Bronze Age carved century BC chryselephantine chryselephantine statues coins dedicated Delphi Delphi Museum depicting Dionysos dowel elephant Ephesos Epidauros evidence excavated face fifth century figures fragments gilded goddess gods gold and ivory Greece Greek Halos Deposit head Hera Heraion inlaid ivory ivory and gold ivory statue Knossos Krzyszkowska life-size LIMC marble materials Minoan monumental moulds Mycenae Nike Olympia Palaikastro Pausanias Perikles Pheidias Philippeion piece Pliny Polykleitos pres preserved relief Roman Rome Sakellarakis sanctuary Sculpture statue of Athena statuettes surviving technique temple Text and translation tusks wooden Zeus Zeus at Olympia Zeus Olympios γὰρ δὲ ἐλέφαντος ἐν ἐπὶ ἐς καὶ μὲν οἱ πρὸς τὰ τε τῇ τὴν τῆς τοῖς τὸν τοῦ τῷ τῶν χρυσοῦ ὡς