The place of honor in the Memorial’s central chamber belongs to the statue of Abraham Lincoln. It was designed by the American sculptor Daniel Chester French. He used Georgia white marble to depict Lincoln, at the height of his power during the Civil War, seated with his coat unbuttoned in a great throne-like chair with an American flag draped over the back. The president’s arms rest on representations of ancient Roman fasces (bound bundles of wooden rods symbolizing power and authority). The statue is built on an oblong pedestal of Tennessee marble.