This low relief in limestone is part of frieze of four female figures which adorned the back wall of a rockshelter. Further engravings of vulva were also discovered on rocks within the archaeological deposits. The woman holding a bison horn is pregnant and the shape of her waist and hips suggest that she had already had children. Her head is turned to the right but seems to look down at her breast rather than towards the horn. She has no face but her neck and shoulders are well defined. Her large breasts are placed high and again suggest previous child bearing. The sexual triangle is well defined and her legs, sculpted slightly apart, are complete and in proportion to the length of her body. The fingers on her left hand rest on her stomach whereas her right arm bends upwards supporting a bison horn marked with 14 vertical incisions. Traces of red ochre occur on her head, body, hips and stomach.

Grand Abri de Laussel, Dordogne, France.

Musée d’Aquitaine, Bordeaux.

Culture taking its name from the La Gravette site, Dordogne, France, and lasted from about 28,000 years ago until 22,000 years ago. Original elements in Gravettian cave art include the use of hand stencils, and the type of female statuette widely but incorrectly known as 'Venus' first appear in the portable art of this period.

Source: Dr Jean Clottes

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