Venus of the Valley

42″ H. X 18″ W.

The Venus of Lespugue was found in 1922 by Saint Perrier in the cave of Les Rideaux. The sculpture was originally made out of mammoth ivory, measures 5.75″ high and is dated at 27,000 years old. She represents the Earth and it’s fertility and the continuation of life. She is The Mother Goddess, the universal female principle in its most primitive conception. Upper Paleolithic female figures like this one are found from the Pyrenees mountains to Siberia, indicating that East and West were once united in honoring the Goddess. The vast majority (over 90%) of human images from 30,000 to 5,000 B.C. are female. Women were recognized as the life-givers and sustainers and they were revered as priestesses.