Venus of Laussel


The Venus of Laussel is an limestone bas-relief of a nude woman. It is painted with red ochre and was carved into the limestone of a rock shelter in the commune of Marquay, in the Dordogne department of south-western France. The carving is associated with the Gravettian Upper Paleolithic culture. It is currently displayed in the Musée d'Aquitaine in Bordeaux, France.

Description

According to Riane Eisler, in her right hand the figure holds a crescent moon notched with thirteen markings: the number of lunar cycles in a year. Her other hand, as if to instruct us of the relationship between the cycles of the moon and women’s menstrual cycles, points to her vagina.
She has large breasts and vulva. There is a "Y" on her thigh and her faceless head is turned toward the crescent moon.

Discovery and display

The figure was discovered in 1911 by Jean-Gaston Lalanne, a physician. It was carved into large block of limestone in a rock shelter at the commune of Marquay in the Dordogne department of south-western France. The limestone block fell off the wall of the shelter. It was brought to the Musée d'Aquitaine in Bordeaux, France.

Works cited

Eisler, Riane, Sacred Pleasure: Sex, Myth, and the Politics of the Body, HarperCollins Publishers Inc., NY.
Marshack, Alexander, The Roots of Civilization, Moyer Bell Ltd, Mount Kisco, NY.