jan 1, 23000 BC - 23,000 BCE - Venus of Lespugue Ivory Carving the ivory carving is noted for its abstraction, and for a series of unusual engravings below the buttocks, which may represent a type of textile skirt made of spun and twisted fibers, or possibly a type of ritualistic skin decorations. in the cave of Les Rideaux, close to the village of Lespugue in Haute-Garonne near the Pyrenees, France. Note: Expressionistic/Cubist/Modernist

Description:

Quote from Cork Uni (link below) -

A famous example of Prehistoric art, this nude female statuette is one of many steatopygian Venus figurines sculpted during the Gravettian culture (26,000 - 20,000 BCE). It was discovered by the archeologist Rene de Saint-Perier (1877-1950) in 1922, in the cave of Les Rideaux, close to the village of Lespugue in Haute-Garonne near the Pyrenees. (No other cave art was found.) Approximately 6 inches in height, the ivory carving is noted for its abstraction, and for a series of unusual engravings below the buttocks, which may represent a type of textile skirt made of spun and twisted fibers, or possibly a type of ritualistic skin decorations. The sculpture is part of the collection of Paleolithic art in the Musee de l'Homme in Paris, France.

Characteristics

The Venus of Lespugue shares a number of characteristics with similar works of mobiliary art created during the Upper Paleolithic. Great attention, for instance, has been paid to its feminine features, notably its enormous, pendulous breasts, protruding belly, and exaggerated hips and buttocks. At the same time, like most other Venuses, it has no facial features (though see Venus of Brassempouy) and no arms. The overall figure is lozengic in form, and tapers from a wide midriff towards the head and feet.

Interpretation of the Venus of Lespugue

The sculptor's clear focus on the figure's female reproductive organs and gender characteristics suggests that it might have been intended as a fertility symbol, although archeologists have so far failed to agree on a common interpretation of these obese female nudes.

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