Fig. 332.—Make Zeus of a doll.
IMAGINE that you see before you a majestic white statue of gigantic size, made of ivory, seated upon an immense throne of ebony, ivory, gold and precious stones, and wearing upon his golden hair a crown of enamelled green olive leaves. Over one shoulder is thrown a mantle of glittering gold, embroidered in white lilies, which falls down over his ivory body across the knees. In one hand he holds the winged figure of Victory, in the other a long, slender sceptre crowned with an eagle, and on his feet are rich golden sandals. There: Was not that worth seeing? You have been looking at Zeus of Olympia, the most beautiful and wonderful statue ever made by Phidias, who lived ages ago and modelled Zeus about the year 439 B.C.
You can make a little statue of Zeus, but you must pretend that
You Are the Sculptor Phidias
and that you are actually modelling the real giant statue. Make believe that hundreds of elephant tusks have been sent to you from distant regions to supply enough ivory for the work, and that you have an abundance of gold, precious stones and ebony. Make Zeus of a doll ([Fig. 332]) five and one-half or six inches in length. Pry off its wig, then give the doll a coat of varnish. Should the arms be flat, round them out with a layer of raw cotton glued on and paint the doll white all over. You must make the entire doll absolutely white.
| Fig. 333.—Gild hair, beard and mustache. | Fig. 334.—Gild hair at the back. | Fig. 335.—Gold sandals on the feet of Zeus. | Fig. 336.—Fold the paper for cutting crown of olive leaves. |
Fig. 337.—The crown of olive leaves.