The almost 11-cm-high Venus figurine from Willendorf (Austria) is one of the most important examples of early art in Europe. It is made of a rock called oolite that is not found in or around Willendorf. A research team led by the anthropologist Gerhard Weber from the University of Vienna and the two geologists Alexander Lukeneder and Mathias Harzhauser as well as the prehistorian Walpurga Antl-Weiser from the Natural History Museum Vienna have now found out with the help of high-resolution tomographic images that the material from which the Venus was carved likely comes from northern Italy.
This sheds new light on the remarkable mobility of the first modern humans south and north of the Alps. The results currently appear in Scientific Reports.Read more.
Ivory ex-votos found at the sanctuary of Artemis Orthia, Sparta, made in the form of protomes and depicting the goddess crowned. Now in the National Archaeological Museum, Athens. Photo credit: Marsyas/Wikimedia Commons.
The day it’s almost over but Im still on time to give you something in gratitude for being with us another year! I really thank you for all those conversation we have and those sweet moments of trust n///n! It’s not that big this…and I need to improve my skills with human/anthro figure but…I put my heart on it only with the wish of see you with a smile on your face n///n!
HELLENISTIC TERRACOTTA STATUETTE OF A DANCING WOMAN,
Her left leg advancing, her left hand pressed against her hip beneath the fabric of her billowing garment, and her right hand gathering the fabric to keep her from tripping. Remains of white slip over all.
Wrapped loosely in a himation; her upraised right hand lifts a corner of it which hangs down the back; on an integrally molded pedestal with a relief of a thiasos, with a satyr and flautist on the front.
This outstandingly beautiful and well-preserved ceramic sculpture is a votive figure from the middle of the first millennium BC, and represents a Phoenician deity. It depicts a goddess standing on an integral base, which bears an offerings bowl (partly obscured by calcareous concretions), her right hand raised and her left hand at her throat. However, it is the quality of the artistry and the almost miraculous preservation which makes this sculpture so remarkable, for most of the details that can be seen here have been eroded in other examples. The face is exceptional, carved with a serene expression and a half smile, with lidded eyes, a long nose and rounded cheeks.
