VENUS OF WILLENDORF

Venus of Willendorf. Replica. Aurignacian culture, Austria. Size 4 inches tall. Venus of Willendorf have been carved 24,000–22,000 BCE.
Venus figurines is an umbrella term for a number of prehistoric statuettes of women sharing common attributes (many depicted as apparently obese or pregnant) from the Aurignacian or Gravettian period of the upper Palaeolithic, found from Western Europe to Siberia. These items were carved from soft stone (such as steatite, calcite or limestone), bone or ivory, or formed of clay and fired. The latter are among the oldest ceramics known. In total, over a hundred such figurines are known; virtually all of modest size, between 4 cm and 25 cm in height.