Venus of Willendorf
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Venus of Willendorf, also known as the Woman of Willendorf, is an 11.1 cm (4 3/8 inches) high statuette of a female figure, discovered at a paleolithic site near Willendorf, Austria, in 1908 by archaeologist Josef Szombathy. It is carved from an oolitic limestone that is not local to the area, and tinted with red ochre.
As of 1990, upon a revised analysis of the stratigraphy of its site, it was estimated to have been carved between 24,000 - 22,000 BCE. Very little is known about its origin, method of creation, or cultural significance.
The Venus is not a realistic portrait but rather an idealization of the female figure. Her vulva, breasts, and swollen belly are very pronounced, suggesting a strong connection to fertility. Her tiny arms are folded over her breasts, and she has no visible face, her head being covered with what might be coils of braids, eyes, or a kind of headdress. The lack of a face has prompted some archaeologists and philosophers to view the Venus as a "universal mother."
The nickname, urging a comparison of this rather obese figurine to the classical image of "Venus", causes resistance in some modern analysis. "The ironic identification of these figurines as 'Venus' pleasantly satisfied certain assumptions at the time about the primitive, about women, and about taste," Christopher Witcombe has noticed [1]. At the same time there is professional reluctance to identify her as an Earth Mother goddess of paleolithic Old Europe.[citation needed] Some suggest that her corpulence would represent high status in a hunter-gatherer society, and that beside her obvious fertility she could be an emblem of security and success.[citation needed]
The statue's feet don't allow it to stand on its own. Due to this it has been speculated that it was meant to be held, rather than simply looked at. Rather than an icon of a Mother Goddess some archaeologists have called it merely a good-luck charm.[citation needed] Others have raised the possibility that it was designed to be inserted vaginally,[citation needed] perhaps as a fertility charm, to become pregnant. Yet others have suggested that the object could have been a male masturbatory aid.[citation needed] The purpose of the carving is subject to much speculation.
Catherine McCoid and LeRoy McDermott theorize that the figurines were done as self portraits by the women themselves. Most theorists agree that the head, seen from a profile view, while having no distinct facial features, appears to be looking down. The common physical characteristics of all of the Venus figures are: a thin upper torso, largely exaggerated breasts, large buttocks and thighs, a large stomach (possibly due to pregnancy), and oddly bent, short legs, that end with disproportionately small feet. Yet when looked upon as if you were a woman looking down at your body, the physical features, in perspective, seem correct. There are striking similarities between the Venus of Willendorf and a pregnant woman when perceived from above.
Venus of Willendorf is part of the collection of the Naturhistorisches Museum in Vienna.[citation needed].
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.
[edit] External links
- The Invisible Sex: Uncovering the True Roles of Women in Prehistory by J.M. Adovasio, Olga Soffer and Jake Page [ISBN: 9780061170911], gives a new 'view' of headdress as possible model for weaving a basket; Laura Miller review at Salon.com: [[2]]
