Woman from willendorf

Venus of Willendorf

The Venus of Willendorf . now known in academia as the Woman of Willendorf . is a 4.25-inch (10.8 cm) high statuette of a female figure estimated to have been made between about 28,000 and 25,000 BCE. [ 1 ] It was found in 1908 by a workman named Johann Veran [ 2 ] or Josef Veram [ 3 ] during excavations conducted by archaeologists Josef Szombathy. Hugo Obermaier and Josef Bayer at a paleolithic site near Willendorf. a village in Lower Austria near the city of Krems. [ 4 ] It is carved from an oolitic limestone that is not local to the area, and tinted with red ochre. The figurine is now in the Naturhistorisches Museum in Vienna. Austria. [ 5 ]

Venus of Willendorf is named after the site in Austria where it was unearthed. [ 6 ]

Dating [ edit ]

Venus of Willendorf

After a wide variety of proposed dates, following a revised analysis of the stratigraphy of its site in 1990, the figure was estimated to have been carved 24,000–22,000 BCE, [ 4 ] but more recent estimates have pushed the date back 'slightly' to between about 28,000 and 25,000 BCE .

It is believed that the figure was carved during the Paleolithic Period. also known as the "Old Stone Age". This period of Prehistory started around 30,000 BCE. [ 6 ]

Purpose [ edit ]

Very little is known about its origin, method of creation, or cultural significance, however, it is one of numerous Venus figurines or representations of female figures surviving from the Paleolithic period. [ 7 ]

The purpose of the carving is the subject of much speculation. It never had feet and does not stand on its own. Parts of the body associated with fertility and childbearing have been emphasized leading researchers to believe Venus of Willendorf may have been used as a fertility goddess. [ 7 ] 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. [ 8 ]

The nickname, urging a comparison to the classical image of "Venus," is now controversial. According to Christopher Witcombe, "the ironic identification of these figurines as 'Venus' pleasantly satisfied certain assumptions at the time about the primitive, about women, and about taste." [ 9 ] Catherine McCoid and LeRoy McDermott hypothesise that the figurines may have been created as self-portraits. [ 10 ]

External video

She was originally nicknamed la poire - "the pear" - on account of her shape. For Piette, the name "Venus" may have come to mind in this particular instance because of the emphatic treatment of the vulva 's labia and the prominent, slightly protruding pubic area, which he tastefully refers to as "le mont de Venus" - the mound of Venus (or mons pubis). "Venus" has since become the collective term used to identify all obese Palaeolithic statuettes of women. [ 12 ]

The Woman of Willendorf

There has been much speculation over the meaning and purpose of the Woman of Willendorf. Image by Imagno/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

The Woman of Willendorf . formerly called Venus of Willendorf . is the name given to a small statue found in 1908. The statue takes its name from the small Austrian village, Willendorf, near where it was found. Measuring only about four inches high, it is estimated to have been created between 25,000 and 30,000 years ago.

Hundreds of these tiny statues have been found in various parts of Europe. The Woman of Willendorf and many of the other small female figurines were originally called “Venuses,” although there is no association with the goddess Venus. whom they predate by several thousand years. Today, in academic and art circles, she is known as the Woman rather than the Venus . to avoid inaccuracies.

For years, archaeologists believed that these figurines were fertility figures – possibly associated with a deity – based upon the rounded curves, exaggerated breasts and hips, and obvious pubic triangle. The Woman of Willendorf has a large, rounded head – although she lacks any facial features – but some of the female figurines from the Paleolithic period appear without a head at all. They also have no feet. The emphasis is always on the form and shape of the female body itself.

Although we will never know the intent or the identity of the artist who created the Woman of Willendorf . it’s been theorized that she was carved by a pregnant woman – a woman who could see and feel her own rounded curves, but not even get a glimpse of her own feet. Some anthropologists have suggested that these statues are simply self-portraits. Art historian LeRoy McDermitt of Central Missouri State University says, “I conclude that the first tradition of human image-making probably emerged as an adaptive response to the unique physical concerns of women and that, whatever else these representations may have symbolized to the society which created them, their existence signified an advance in women’s self-conscious control over the material conditions of their reproductive lives.” (Current Anthropology, 1996, University of Chicago Press ).

Because the statue has no feet, and cannot stand on her own, she was probably created to be carried on one’s person, rather than displayed in a permanent location. It’s entirely possible she, and the other figures like her which have been found all over much of Western Europe. was used as a trade commodity between tribal groups.

A similar figurine, the Woman from Dolni Vestonice , is an early example of performance art. This Paleolithic statue, which features exaggerated breasts and wide hips, is made of kiln-fired clay. She was found surrounded by hundreds of similar pieces, most of which were broken by the heat of the kiln. The process of creation was as important – perhaps more so – than the end result. Dozens of these statues would be shaped and created, and placed in the kiln for heating, where the majority would shatter. Those pieces that survived must have been considered very special indeed.

Although many Pagans today view the Woman of Willendorf as a statue symbolizing the Divine, anthropologists and other researchers are still divided as to whether or not she is truly a representation of some Paleolithic goddess. This is in no small part due to the fact that there is currently no evidence of a pan-European pre-Christian goddess religion .

As to Willendorf . and who created her and why, for now we’ll just have to continue speculating.

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History Meme. Eight Objects (2/8)

Venus of Willendorf, also called the Woman of Willendorf, is a female figure statuette carved from Oolitic Limestone, a stone not local to the area it was found. It is a 4.25 inch (10.8 cm) high and is estimated to be made between 28,000 and 25,000 BCE, in what is called the “Old Stone Age.”

It was discovered in 1908 by a man named Johann Veran during an excavation lead by archaeologists Josef Szombathy, Hugo Obermaier, and Josef Bayer at a paleolithic site near Willendorf, Austria.

Little is known about the origin or significance of the figure, but numerous female figures have been discovered from the Paleolithic period. The emphasized body parts have connections to fertility and childbearing, which leads to a theory that it may have been a figure of a fertility goddess.