Venus of Laussel - Goddess with a Horn (c. 25 000 years old)

Venus of Laussel - Was She a Goddess of Fertility, Hunting, Wine, or Music?

The Venus of Laussel, or "Femme a la corne" (Woman with a Horn in French) is a Venus figurine, one of a class of objects found in Upper Paleolithic archaeological sites throughout Europe. The Laussel Venus was carved into the face of a limestone block found in Laussel cave in the Dordogne valley of France.

The 45 centimeter (18 inch) high image is of a woman with large breasts, belly and thighs, explicit genitals and an undefined or eroded head with what appears to have been long hair.

Her left hand rests on her belly, and her right hand holds what looks to be a large horn—perhaps the core of a horn of an ancient buffalo (bison). The horn core has 13 vertical lines etched onto it: the undefined face appears to be looking at the core.

A "Venus figurine"is an art history term for a relatively life-like drawing or sculpture of a human being—man, woman or child—found in many Upper Paleolithic contexts. The stereotypical (but by no means the only or even the most common) Venus figure consists of a detailed drawing of a woman's lush and Rubenesque body which lacks details for her face, arms, and feet.
Laussel Cave

Laussel cave is a large rock shelter located near the town of Laussel, in the municipality of Marquay. One of five carvings found at Laussel, the Venus of Laussel was carved onto a limestone block that had fallen from the wall. There are traces of red ochre on the sculpture, and reports of the excavators suggest that it was covered in the substance when it was found.

Laussel Cave was discovered in 1911, and scientific excavations have not been conducted since that time. The Upper Paleolithic Venus was dated by stylistic means as belonging to the Gravettian or Upper Perigordian period, between 29,000 to 22,000 years ago.

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