Venus of Laussel

Venus of Laussel in Bordeaux museum.
Detail of the head.
Detail of the right arm and the horn.
Detail of the left arm and hand.

The Venus of Laussel is an 18.11-inch-high (46.0-centimetre) limestone bas-relief of a nude woman. It is painted with red ochre and was carved into the limestone of a rock shelter (Abri de Laussel) in the commune of Marquay, in the Dordogne department of south-western France. The carving is associated with the Gravettian Upper Paleolithic culture (approximately 25,000 years old). It is currently displayed in the Musée d'Aquitaine in Bordeaux, France.

Description

The figure holds a bison horn, or possibly a cornucopia, in one hand, which has thirteen notches. Alexander Marshack said about the Venus of Laussel that "One cannot conjecture on the basis of one engraved sequence any meaning to the marks, but that the unusually clean horn was notated with storied marks is clear."[1]

She has her hand on her abdomen (or womb), with large breasts and vulva. There is a "Y" on her thigh and her faceless head is turned toward the horn.

Discovery and display

The figure was discovered in 1911 by Jean-Gaston Lalanne, a physician. It was carved into large block of limestone in a rock shelter (abri de Laussel) at the commune of Marquay in the Dordogne department of south-western France. The limestone block fell off the wall of the shelter. It was brought to the Musée d'Aquitaine in Bordeaux, France.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Marshack, p. 335.

Works cited

  • Marshack, Alexander (1991), The Roots of Civilization, Moyer Bell Ltd, Mount Kisco, NY.
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