Chryselephantine Children Under Umbrella
A Dimitri Chiparus gilt chryselephantine figural group of children huddled under an umbrella on an onyx plinth. Signed and numbered 4235. Height 9.45 in.
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- Onyx - Onyx is a form of agate, used from antiquity and popular again in the 1920s and 30s. European onyx is generally green, but can be many other colours, and can contain bands of black and/or white.
This multicoloured stone is widely used for table tops, lamp bases and in jewellery. Some types of onyx are also used for cameos of which the upper white layer is cut away to reveal the colour beneath. - Chryselephantine - Chryselephantine is not a name for a single material or substance. Originally, chryselephantine was the name given to sculptures made from gold and ivory, a technique in use since the second millenium BC.
The word was derived from a combination of the Greek words for "gold" and "ivory".
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.
However "chryselephantine" is now used to describe a statue, usually from the Art Nouveau period in which the skin is represented by ivory, and the clothing and other items in the statue are made from another material, most commonly bronze.
A more common way to describe a statue made from these materials would simply be as a "bronze and ivory" [figure].
Other materials used included marble, onyx and silver.
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