The Goddess Project

Venus of Willendorf

The Venus of Willendorf, a figure of a female estimated to have been made between about 28,000 and 25,000 BCE was found in 1908 during excavations at a paleolithic site near Willendorf, Austria. It is carved from an oolitic limestone that is not local to the area, and tinted with red ochre. It is believed to have a been carried to the site by nomadic people from this period of Prehistory starting around 30,000 BCE. It is believed that Venus of Willendorf was used as a fertility goddess. The figure has no visible face, her head being covered circular horizontal bands of what might be rows of plaited or a type of headdress. She is the oldest found image of the earth mother goddess and one of the first art pieces ever discovered. She was the center of "Revisiting the Goddess" installation made for Prospect 3 on the facade of our building on Gravier St.