The Venus of Willendorf, also known as…
23373 BCE to 21646 BCE
The Venus of Willendorf, also known as the Woman of Willendorf, is an eleven centimeter (4.3 inches) high statuette of a female figure; the estimated date of manufacture is between 24,000 and 22,000 BCE.
Discovered, still bearing traces of red pigment, in 1908 by archaeologist Josef Szombathy at a Paleolithic site near Willendorf, a village in Lower Austria near the city of Krems, it is carved from an oolitic limestone that is not local to the area, and tinted with red ochre.
The apparent large size of the breasts and abdomen, and the detail put into the vulva, have led scholars to interpret the figure as a fertility symbol.
The figure has no visible face, her head being covered with circular horizontal bands of what might be rows of plaited hair, or a type of headdress.
The purpose of the carving is subject to much speculation.
The statue was not created with feet and does not stand on its own.
The heavy stress on the female anatomical features and the absence of facial expression emphasize the figure’s sexuality.
Since this figure's discovery and naming, several similar statuettes and other forms of art have been discovered.
They are collectively referred to as Venus figurines, although they predate the mythological figure of Venus by millennia.
Images
Venus of Willendorf. Photo taken 1 January 2007 by Matthias Kabel.
Locations
Groups
Commodities
Regions
Central Europe
View →Subregions
