Are Venus figurines associated with fertility?
As the features that are exaggerated and emphasized in most of the carvings (large breasts, ample hips, protruding stomachs) are associated with fertile and pregnant women, it is possible that these female figures served as fertility symbols.
What do Venus statues represent?
The Venus figurines are statuettes depicting obese women that, up until now, were thought to have been associated with fertility and beauty. A recent study published in “Obesity” has suggested instead that the figurines are totems of survival in extreme conditions.
Why does Venus of Willendorf represent fertility?
While not all of these statuettes share the Venus of Willendorf’s voluptuous features, most do. This is because, during the Stone Age, such an appearance was inherently linked to a woman’s ability to conceive, making a full-figured woman an ideal subject for a sculptor interested in fertility.
What were fertility statues for?
With an origin in Egypt, this figure is a Statue of a naked women with incomplete legs. It is believed that both men and women used these figures to ensure fertility; thought to enhance a wife’s fruitfulness and a husband’s potency.
Where would you find a Venus figurine?
A Venus figurine is any Upper Palaeolithic statuette portraying a woman, usually carved in the round. Most have been unearthed in Europe, but others have been found as far away as Siberia, and distributed across much of Eurasia.
Why are so many ancient statues called Venus if Venus is the name of a goddess who appeared in a much later civilization?
The use of the name is metaphorical as there is no link between the ancient figurines and the Roman goddess Venus; although they have been interpreted as representations of a primordial female goddess.
Where are Venus figurines found?
When were the Venus figurines found?
History of discovery It was found in 1864 by Paul Hurault, 8th Marquis de Vibraye at Laugerie-Basse in the Vézère valley. This valley is one of the many important Stone Age sites in and around the commune of Les Eyzies-de-Tayac-Sireuil in Dordogne, southwestern France.
Why are they called Venus figurines?
Upper Palaeolithic female figurines are collectively described as “Venus figurines” in reference to the Roman goddess of beauty Venus. The name was first used in the mid-nineteenth century by the Marquis de Vibraye, who discovered an ivory figurine and named it La Vénus impudique or Venus Impudica (“immodest Venus”).
What is the oldest Venus statue in the world?
The Venus of Willendorf, considered the oldest Venus statue, is one of the most iconic pieces of art history, not only representing the Neolithic woman but also representing what the artist and the community they lived in valued from these women.
What is a Vénus impudique?
The Vénus impudique, which was the figurine that gave the whole category its name, was the first Palaeolithic sculptural representation of a woman to be discovered in modern times. It was found in 1864 by Paul Hurault, 8th Marquis de Vibraye at Laugerie-Basse in the Vézère valley.
What is the spiritual meaning of a figurine?
The figurines could also have spiritual purposes, Johnson said, similar to a good luck amulet. This specific concept was known as “sympathetic magic,” in which someone can be supernaturally affected by an object that represents them.