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Venus of Petrkovice

The Venus of Petrkovice, also known as the Venus of Landek, is a small 4.6 cm figurine carved from black hematite. It depicts a female torso and is approximately 23,000 years old, placing it in the Gravettian period. The statuette was discovered in 1953 at a mammoth hunter camp site on Landek Hill in Petrovice, in the northern suburbs of Ostrava near the Oder in the Czech Republic. The original is kept in Brno at the Institute of Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences.

Replica of the Venus of Petrkovice showing a dark prehistoric female torso with pronounced breasts and hips.
Replica of the Venus of Petrkovice, a simplified prehistoric female torso.
2009 © · CC BY-SA 3.0
Replica of the Venus of Petřkovice showing a dark female torso with prominent breasts and hips on a clear stand.
The Venus of Petřkovice replica shown as a dark female torso on a clear stand.
2009 © · CC BY-SA 3.0
Venus of Petrkovice sculpture on an inscribed plinth and stone-filled gabion base in a wooded setting.
The Venus of Petrkovice stands on an inscribed plinth above a stone-filled gabion base in a wooded area.
October 2012 © · CC BY-SA 3.0
Venus of Petrkovice stone statue on a base beside a gabion wall on a wooded hillside.
The Venus of Petrkovice stands outdoors on a wooded hillside, mounted on a square base beside a gabion-style wall.
April 2016 © Ladislav Boháč · CC BY 2.0

Identification

TitleVenus of Petřkovice
Alternative namesVenus of Landek; Petřkovická venuše; Landecká venuše; Wenus z Petřkovic
TypePrehistoric Venus figurine

Historical context

DateApproximately 23,000 BC
PeriodLate Paleolithic; Gravettian culture

Creator

Discovered byBohuslav Klíma

Discovery and provenance

Discovery date14 July 1953
Discovery placeLandek Hill in Petřkovice, near Ostrava, Silesia, Czech Republic
Archaeological contextFound at a mammoth-hunters' settlement
Associated findsStone artifacts, skeletal fragments, and burned bones; evidence of coal use was found at the site
FindspotOn the grounds of the present Landek Park mining museum

Physical characteristics

Dimensions4.6 cm tall; 4.5 × 1.5 × 1.4 cm
Condition at discoveryBroken into three parts; apparently originally made as a torso without a head and without lower legs
SubjectHeadless female torso of a slender young woman or girl with small breasts

Materials

MaterialHematite

Appearance

Stylistic noteUnlike other prehistoric Paleolithic Venus figurines; it differs from other Paleolithic Venuses in two features, but the fragment does not specify what they are

Location and ownership

Current locationArchaeological Museum in Brno; stored in the safe of the Archaeological Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Brno
ReplicaA greatly enlarged replica has been installed at the findspot
Exhibited atThe British Museum, London, in 2013

Other

Site noteLandek contains one of the most profitable coal seams in Europe, which is the origin of Ostrava's prosperity

Significance

Comparative examplesDolní Věstonice Venus; Venus of Willendorf; Venus of Galgenberg; Venus of Moravany

History and restoration

Ostrava presentationsDisplayed in Ostrava on 15 November 2002 at the Černá louka exhibition grounds, for one day in 2003 at the Ostrava Mining Museum, and on 28 October 2009 in the vestibule of the New Town Hall
Loan agreementThe City Museums of Ostrava and the Academy of Sciences concluded an agreement for annual loan availability, with multiple loans possible if needed
Requested transferOstrava's then mayor, Petr Kajnar, sought to have the Venus transferred to the city, but the Archaeological Institute refused