chryselephantine

American  

[kris-el-uh-fan-tin, -tahyn] / ˌkrɪs ɛl əˈfæn tɪn, -taɪn /

adjective

1. made of or overlaid with gold and ivory, as certain objects made in ancient Greece.

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chryselephantine British  

/ ˌkrɪsɛlɪˈfæntɪn /

adjective

1. (of ancient Greek statues) made of or overlaid with gold and ivory

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Etymology

Origin of chryselephantine

1820–30; < Greek chrȳselephántinos, equivalent to chrȳs- chrys- + elephántinos ( elephant-, stem of eléphās elephant, ivory + -inos -ine ¹

Example Sentences

Actress West plays her heroine with an eloquent and minatory calm, which contrasts well with the chryselephantine magnificence of her appearance.

From Time Magazine Archive

It is ironic that the best evidence we have of what Phidias' lost chryselephantine statue of Athena in the Parthenon looked like should be preserved on a Scythian woman's pendant from the 4th century B.C.

From Time Magazine Archive

There were statues in metal and marble, bas-reliefs in various kinds of stone and marble, as well as some chryselephantine statues.

From A History of Art for Beginners and Students Painting, Sculpture, Architecture by Waters, Clara Erskine Clement

And still his heart throbbed and throbbed, till he almost fancied she must hear its noisy beat—and still she stood motionless, gazing upon the sky, like some exquisite chryselephantine statue, all ivory and gold.

From Hypatia — or New Foes with an Old Face by Kingsley, Charles

In certain forms of combination with gold, it gave origin to the art of chryselephantine sculpture, so called from the Greek primitives, gold and ivory.

From Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 421 Volume 17, New Series, January 24, 1852 by Chambers, William