Venus of Laussel: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|Sculpture of a nude woman}}

{{Infobox artefact

| image = Venus-de-Laussel-vue-generale-noir.jpg

| image_caption = Tablet on display in the British Museum

| material = [[Limestone]]

| size = Height: 46 cm

| writing =

| created = {{circa|23,000 BC}}

| location = [[Musée d'Aquitaine]], [[Bordeaux]], France

| id =

| registration =

| discovered_by = Jean-Gaston Lalanne

| discovered_date = 1911

| discovered_place = [[Marquay, Dordogne|Marquay]], [[Dordogne]], France

}}

The '''Venus of Laussel''' is an {{convert|18.11|in|cm|adj=mid|abbr=off|-high}} [[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, Dordogne|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.

The figure holds a [[European bison|bison]] horn, or possibly a [[cornucopia]], in one hand, which has thirteen notches. She has large breasts, a great stomach, and wide hips. There is a "Y" on her thigh and her faceless head is turned toward the horn. The lower relief was coveredinred ochre.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Thompson, William Irwin.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/6890108|title=The time falling bodies take to light : mythology, sexuality, and the origins of culture|date=1981|publisher=St. Martin's Press|isbn=0-312-80510-1|location=New York|pages=105|oclc=6890108}}</ref>

==Discovery and display==

The relief 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, Dordogne|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.

== Meaning ==

The figure and the horn are considered significant in figurative studies of Paleolithic art. There are many similarly formed "goddess figures", such as [[Venus of Willendorf]], said to be of potential significance in Eurasian [[prehistoric religion]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Shamans, Sorcerers, and Saints: A Prehistory of Religion|last=Hayden|first=Brian|date=17 December 2003|publisher=Smithsonian Books|location=Washington, DC|chapter=Complexity in the Hunter-Gatherer World|pages=153–155|isbn=9781588341686}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=The "Venus" Figurines: Textiles, Basketry, Gender, and Status in the Upper Paleolithic|journal=Current Anthropology|volume=41|issue=4|pages=511–537|date=2000|vauthors=Soffer O, Adovasio JM, Hyland DC|doi=10.1086/317381|s2cid=162026727}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Eisler, Riane Tennenhaus|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/15222627|title=The chalice and the blade : our history, our future|date=1987|publisher=Harper & Row|isbn=0-06-250287-5|edition=1st|location=Cambridge [Mass.]|pages=5|oclc=15222627}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Neumann, Erich|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/908042725|title=The Great Mother : an analysis of the archetype|others=Manheim, Ralph, 1907-1992|date=4 May 2015|isbn=978-1-4008-6610-6|edition=First Princeton classics|location=Princeton, New Jersey|oclc=908042725}}</ref> The color and the number of notches on the horn may symbolize the number of moons or the number of [[menstrual cycle]]s in one year, or the number of days from menstruation to [[ovulation]].<ref name=":0" />

==Further reading==

* Eisler, Riane (1995), Sacred Pleasure: Sex, Myth, and the Politics of the Body, HarperCollins Publishers Inc., NY.

* Marshack, Alexander (1971). ''The Roots of Civilization'', Moyer Bell Ltd, Mount Kisco, NY.

{{Venus figurines}}

[[Category:1911 archaeological discoveries]]