Roman chryselephantine statues, like their Greek counterparts, were sculptures made from a combination of gold and ivory on a wooden core . The term “chryselephantine” itself is derived from the Greek words “chrysos” (gold) and “elephantinos” (ivory). These statues were highly prized in the ancient world for their opulence and craftsmanship. I first discovered this technique when visiting the Palazzo Massimo in Rome. There is a beautiful fragment from a statue that was discovered in the Roman ruins near my home in 1994, it was then sold on the black market and ended up in London. The Carabinieri in Italy, spent many years investigating and tracking parts of the statue,…
