Venus of Kostenky

The bone Venus of Kostenky is the oldest known piece of figurative sculpture in Russia and the earliest example of 3-D fine art from the Upper Paleolithic Stone Age - the period dating roughly from 40,000 to 10,000 BCE during which Homo sapiens neanderthalensis was replaced by anatomically modern man. One of a large number of "Venus Figurines" created during this period, it should not be confused with its sister figurine, the limestone Venus of Kostenky, which was found at the same site but dates from a later period.

Discovery

Unfortunately, the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg does not provide an authoritative date of discovery for this figurine. However, we do know it was found at the famous archeological site of Kostenky, situated in a steep ravine in the central Russian province of Voronezh. The complex actually consists of a stratified series of sites of Stone Age hunter-gatherer settlements of the Aurignacian, Gravettian and Magdalenian cultures, spanning the period 40,000 to 8,000 BCE, where numerous finds of prehistoric artifacts, tools, fossils and other ancient materials have already been made.

PREHISTORIC ART in IRELAND
For details of arts & culture
during the Pleistocene and
Holocene epochs, see:
Irish Stone Age Art
Mainly megalithic architecture
Irish Bronze Age Art
Celtic metalwork, tomb-building
Irish Iron Age Art
La Tene Celtic culture, sculpture

Date

The bone Venus of Kostenky was carved during the Aurignacian culture of the Upper Paleolithic period, and is dated to 30,000 BCE. As stated above, this makes it the earliest figurative work of art of the period, and the third oldest item of 3-D art of the entire Stone Age: predated only by the Venus of Berekhat Ram and the Venus of Tan-Tan, both from the Acheulean culture of the Lower/Middle Paleolithic and not connected with the Kostenky type.

Composition and Description

The bone Venus of Kostenky is carved from mammoth bone and has a number of features characteristic of most Aurignacian and Gravettian venus statuettes: including, a pregnant belly, fat buttocks and ultra drooping breasts.

However, what makes this venus so unusual is its overall "wasted" appearance. Despite its general obese status, its neck and shoulders are relatively normal in size, and its hanging breasts are not full like those of other similar figures. Instead they look half-empty. The resulting impression is one of a tall, pregnant, slightly wasted and somewhat older woman. This is quite different from most other female figurines, exemplified by the Venus of Willendorf (Austria) and the Venus of Gagarino, that approach caricature in their swollen forms and exaggerated obesity. (Other famous venus sculptures from the Upper Paleolithic include the Venus of Lespugue, the Venus of Mal'ta, the Venus of Brassempouy, the Venus of Monpazier and the Venus of Dolní Vestonice.)

Interpretation

Because this sculpture is much more true-to-life than many of its counterparts, it does not easily fit the usual fertility or supernatural explanations, given for the cultural significance of venus figurines. Instead, one feels that the sculptor was simply trying to portray a real person.

One awaits further treasures from this extraordinary Russian excavation.

• For the oldest art of prehistory, see: Bhimbetka Petroglyphs.
• For more about Stone Age art, see: Cave Painting - Lascaux - Chauvet - Altamira - Pech-Merle - Cosquer
• See also: Blombos Cave Art - Ivory Carvings Swabian Jura - Oldest Art - Top 50 Oldest Works of Art
• For the history and facts about painting and sculpture in Ireland, see: Irish Art Guide.

• To update this mini-review of the Venus of Kostenky (Bone), click here.