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Venus of Willendorf
(Austria)
Date: 25,000 BCE
Material: Oolitic limestone
The Venus of Willendorf was discovered
in 1908, near Krems in Austria. It remains one of the most graphic, naturalistic
prehistoric representations of an obese female. For a full description,
see: Venus of Willendorf.
Venus of Savignano
(Italy)
Date: 25,000 BCE
Material: Serpentine stone
Discovered in shallow clay soil by the
Panaro River, the Venus of Savignano is the Italy's most famous prehistoric
female sculpture. Carved out of a block of yellow-greenish serpentine
stone, the statuette's bust is tilts backwards and its back is convex:
the belly is large, as are the buttocks, below which are voluminous thighs,
ending in short tapering legs without feet. Traces of red ochre are visible
on the head, right arm and lower backside.
Venus of Moravany
(Slovakia)
Date: 24,000-22,000 BCE
Material: Mammoth ivory
Discovered in a freshly ploughed field
close to the village of Moravany nad Váhom in Slovakia, in 1938,
this figurine is carved from mammoth bone and is 7.6 centimetres in height.
The locality was first settled by Neanderthal Man during the Middle Paleolithic,
attracted by the abundant supply of game and the nearby hot springs. The
Venus of Moravany is currently housed at the Bratislava Castle museum.
Limestone Venus
of Kostenky (Russia)
Date: 23,000-21,00 BCE
Material: Limestone
Some 10 centimetres in height, this figurine
exhibits the usual exaggerated breasts and belly. Its head, devoid of
any facial features bends down towards the chest, its braceleted arms
are pressed into the body with hands on the belly. The head is incised
with a braid-like pattern suggesting a hair style, headdress or cap. The
neck is encircled with a plait, resembling a halter-neck style dress fastening,
tied up at the back. It is the second oldest Venus figurine found in Russia,
after the Kostenky bone venus discovered at the same site. It should not
be confused with the earlier bone Venus of Kostenky (see above).
Venus of Laussel
(France)
Date: (c.23,000)
Material: Limestone
The Venus of Laussel was discovered in
1911, carved on a free-standing block of stone in the Dordogne region,
quite close to the prehistoric caves of Lascaux. It is a limestone bas-relief,
approximately 43 centimetres in height, of a female nude. The sculpture
is faintly coloured with red ochre. It was one of six venus figurines
carved in relief, which occupied a ceremonial area of the Stone Age rock
shelter where it was found. Featuring the customary pendulous breasts,
large hips and obese forms, it has hands and fingers but no feet, and
the sculptor used the contour of the stone to enhance the pregnant belly.
In her right hand, the woman holds a bison horn which contains 13 notches
- which may symbolize the number of menstrual cycles in one year. One
of the earliest known examples of prehistoric bas-relief sculpture, the
Venus of Laussel is housed at the Musée d'Aquitaine, in Bordeaux.
Venus of Brassempouy
(France)
Date: 23,000 BCE
Material: Mammoth Ivory
Discovered in 1892 at Brassempouy, in southwest
France, this figurine is possibly the earliest prehistoric carving of
a human face. For a full description, see: Venus
of Brassempouy.
Venus of Lespugue
(France)
Date: 23,000 BCE
Material: Mammoth ivory
Discovered in 1922 in the Stone Age cave
of Les Rideaux near the village of Lespugue in the Haute Garonne region
of France, this famous carving is roughly 6 inches in length and represents
the height of abstraction for venus figures of the Gravettian Upper Paleolithic
culture. Presenting an overall lozenge-like shape, it shares the common
characteristics of no facial detail, exaggerated breasts, hips and buttocks,
but these features are taken to such extremes that the breasts merge with
the torso leading to an uncommonly flattened profile. Overall, a highly
stylized interpretation of typical venus sculptural conventions. The figurine
is housed at the Musée de l'Homme in Paris.
Venus of Gagarino
(Ukraine)
Date: 22,000 BCE
Material: Volcanic rock
Discovered in 1926 by archeologist Zamiatinine,
on the right bank of the Don River near its junction with the Sosna River
in southern Russia, the figurine is roughly 6 centimetres in length and
carved from volcanic rock. It was unearthed during excavations of a Stone
Age settlement, during which a large quantity of prehistoric artifacts,
flint tools and animal bones were discovered, along with several "venus"
figurines. Sculpted in almost caricature-style, the Gagarino Venus is
mainly composed of gargantuan breasts and belly, with short stubs of thighs,
broken above the knee. It is the oldest venus statuette ever found in
the Ukraine.
Mal'ta Venus
(Russia)
Date: 21,000 BCE
Material: Mammoth ivory
Discovered in a prehistoric cave close
to Lake Baikal in Russia, the Mal'ta Venus is the oldest recorded example
of Siberian figurative sculpture. Carved from mammoth ivory, it displays
the exaggerated forms associated with most European venus figurines, including
large breasts, buttocks, hips and thighs. It is housed at the Hermitage
Museum, in St Petersburg.
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