The history of chryselephantine statues is linked with the Belgian colonial empire and with the exploitation of the mineral resources in Congo. Great quantities of minerals, precious woods and ivory were imported from Congo at the end of the 1800s.
At the time ivory wasn't much used and therefore its market went through ups and downs and eventually stocks started increasing and piling up. The Belgian government tried to promote the use of this material and, in 1894, the Belgian minister for Congo Van Estevelde appealed to various artists, asking them to use ivory in their works and even offering them the best pieces to work on.
Little by little various artists rediscovered a technique that had been already used in Greece and that allowed them to employ ivory and gold to make beautiful statues: the body parts were carved out of the former, while the latter was used for the decorations and ornaments of the statue. The final effect was striking: the ivory gave the faces of the statues a sort of divine look, while the other materials contributed to endow them with a sense of opulence and luxury.
The first chryselephantine statues were showcased in the late 1890s at various exhibitions: in some cases bronze, wood, marble and onyx were employed instead of gold, materials that gave the statues more variety and a peculiar beauty. As the years passed, while more artists experimented with the possibilities that chryselephantine statues offered and started using also unusual materials, the statues became cultural symbols of the Art Deco movement.
During the first two decades of the 1900s and until the late 20s, the statues were usually inspired by ballet, music hall or exotic dancers and at times they represented characters such as Columbine and Pierrot. 
Demeter Chiparus was probably the most important artist when it came to chryselephantine statues. His dancers are mysterious creatures, caught in their theatrical movements and gestures, balancing their body on one foot with their heads pulled backwards or with their arms open as if they were wings that could help them librating in the air. The garments wore by Chiparus’ statues – those catsuits, ethereal skirts characterised by draped motifs, cloche hats and turbans – were made employing bronze and coloured enamels, obtaining in this way special colours such as gold, burnt red, green and dark blue.
There are entire volumes on this topic and whole chapters in books about Art Deco that feature the story of chryselephantine statues accompanied by some wonderful images. I never get tired of leafing through such books and looking at the beautiful dancers clad in elaborate and precious catsuits, their perfect bodies frozen forever in dance positions that often evoke Isadora Duncan's choreographies, I often find myself wishing these catsuits would come back on our catwalks.
Chryselephantine statues came back to my mind after seeing the body suits and leggings from Stine Goya’s Autumn/Winter 09 collection presented yesterday at Copenhagen Fashion Week.
Though the presentation of the collection was a bit too distracting, with models swinging on the catwalk and a live singer, I found the bejewelled black and burnt red catsuits rather inspiring.
Metallic colours that called to mind the metals and enamels of chryselephantine statues seemed to be the main palette for the collection of this designer who has become quite known in selected circles for her use of clean-cut lines and bold colours.
The catsuits were paired with sharp-shouldered cropped jackets and the leggings with ample coats or above the knee skirts. I hope Stine Goya will experiment with these pieces a bit further and maybe come up with slightly more complicated pieces in future.
In the meantime, I'll go back to my books about chryselephantine statues and keep on dreaming about their divinely perfect looks.
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