The term "chryselephantine" comes from the Greek chrysós (χρυσός), meaning "gold", and elephántinos (ἐλεφάντινος), meaning "ivory", thus designating statues made using these two materials.

Description

According to Pausanias, the statue showed Zeus seated on his throne, a representation which dates back to The Iliad and which spread in Greek art from the sixth century BC. J.-C. — it seems, moreover, that the sculptor was voluntarily inspired by Homer. The god was crowned with an olive branch. In his right hand he held a statuette of Nike, the personification of victory, herself represented crowned with a headband and a garland. Its proportions remain unknown. In his left hand, Zeus held a richly decorated scepter, on which an eagle was perched. Draped in a himation (cloak) embroidered with animal figures and flowers, the god wore sandals. His throne had a carved, inlaid (gemstone, ebony) and painted decoration. Four little dancing Victories crowned the feet of the throne.

The whole was made using the chryselephantine technique: plates of gold (χρυσός / khrusós) and ivory (ἐλεφάντινος / elephantinos) covered a wooden core and respectively represented, on the one hand, the hair, the beard, the sandals and the drapery, on the other hand the bare parts (notably the skin). The statue was about twelve meters high, including one meter for the base and two meters for the pedestal. A kalos inscription on one of the fingers, "Pantarkes is beautiful", makes it possible to date the statue approximately: the so-called Pantarkes won in 436 BC. the boys' wrestling event at the Olympic Games.

The statue enjoyed great fame throughout the Greek world. It was included in the list of the Seven Wonders of the World. Out of veneration for the sculptor, the workshop where he sculpted the colossus with his students was preserved until the 5th century AD. AD (it was found and excavated from 1954 to 1958). Subsequently, the statue was removed from the temple and joined, in Constantinople, the prodigious collection of Lausos, chamberlain of Theodosius II, which included among others the Aphrodite of Cnidus. It disappeared in a fire in 461, along with the other statues. Unfortunately, no marble or bronze copy has come down to us. On the other hand, the work of Phidias has been identified with more or less certainty on a series of Roman coins minted from 98 to 198 AD. AD.

Source: en.wikipedia.org