Venus Figurines Descriptions and Pictures!

Venus figurines are named in  reference to the Roman goddess of beauty, Venus. There are quite a bit of small figurines and other pieces of art that fall under the category of Venus figurines. Venuses are highly differential in shape and size. Venus figurines are carved from ivory, chipped/carved from stone, or molded in clay. Most of the Venuses are named after the place that they where discovered.   In this post I will describe some of the ones from the Upper Paleolithic.

Distribution of Venus Figurine Sites
Soffer page 512

The Venus of Hohle Fels:

http://www.nature.com/news/2009/090513/full/news.2009.473.html

This is believed to be the oldest Venus dating to about 35,000 years ago (Cressey 2009). This Venus was found in multiple pieces in Hohle Fels cave Germany and is found in Aurignacian period deposit. The head of the Venus, is instead a ring meaning that the figurine was possibly worn as a pendant. The Hohle Fels Venus is carved from mammoth ivory with highly protruding breasts and well defined hands. the waste is slightly thinner than the hips and shoulders. The Hohle Fels Venus seems to have an "extreme emphasis on sexual attributes" with its clearly defined breasts buttocks and vulva. (Conard: 2009)

The Venus of Brassempouy:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/Venus_of_Brassempouy.jpg

The Venus of Brassempouy dates to as early as 30,000 BCE and was found in France. This Venus has a wide nose long neck and deep-set eyes. The engraved patterning on her head are representative of either a head dress or hair. (Stockstad and Cothren: 2011)

The Venus of Willendorf:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/50/Venus
_von_Willendorf_01.jpg/200px-Venus_von_Willendorf_01.jpg

The Venus of Willendorf dates to 24,000 BCE and is only four inches in height. This Venus is carved from limestone and was covered with red ochre. This figure also has overly exaggerated female attributes with large breasts, buttocks, wide hips and thighs. She also has a big belly with a navel that was a natural indentation in the rock. (Stockstad and Cothren: 2011)

The Venus of Dolni Vestonice:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons
/b/b8/Vestonicka_venuse_edit.jpg

The Venus of Dolni Vestonice dates to 23,000 BCE and was found in Czechoslovakia. This Venus is made from fired clay, this is significant because it is one of the first Venuses to be made from clay. like other Venuses this Venus has a thin waste
and over exaggerated female characteristics. (Stockstad and Cothren: 2011)

The Venus of Galgenburg:

http://chesterfieldpagans.org/2010/06/01/venus-figurines/

This figurine dates to 29,000 BP and is made from green serpentine stone. this type of stone occurs in slabs, thus the figurine is flat. the stone is thick and brittle and took much skill to carve. the artist probably made the arms and legs thicker than normal proportions because if they were carved any thinner they would possibly break. Unlike other Venuses  the Venus of Galgenburg does not have exaggerated female characteristics. She is instead interpreted to be dancing by the position of her legs and feet. (Bahn:1989)



Overall the Venus figurines are beautiful specimens of art. The varying theories about their purposes is also representative of the variation in styles of the figurines. The different materials used and the different methods of construction are very unique. Through my research so far, I have found that archaeologists have been focused on the different theoretical purposes of the figurines rather than the construction method. I myself will also try to draw some conclusions about the figurines borrowing from others theories but while also focusing on my own. Until next time.

Works Cited:

Amalasuntha. “Venus Figurines.” Chesterfield Pagans. Chesterfield Pagans, 1 Jun. 2010. Web. 30 Oct. 2012

Bahn, Paul G. “Age and the female form.” Nature 342 (1989): 345-346. Web. 30 Oct. 2012. doi:10.1038/342345a0

Conard, Nicholas J. “A female figurine from the basal Aurignacian of Hohle Fels Cave in southwestern Germany.” Nature 459 (2009): 248-252. Web. 30 Oct. 2012.

Hirst, Kristin. “Venus Figurines.”  About.com, n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2012

Soffer, O., Adovasio J. M., and Hyland D.C. “The ‘Venus’ Figurines: Textiles, Basketry, Gender, and Status in the Upper Paleolithic.” Current Anthropology Vol. 41 No. 4 (August/October 2000): 511-537. Web. 30 Oct. 2012. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/317381

Stokstad, Marilyn, and Cothren, Michael W. Art History. 4th ed. Boston: Pearson, 2011. Print.

“Venus Figurines.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. n.d. Web. 4 Nov. 2012