5 Woman Holding Bison Horn PDF

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History of Visual Arts AR2050 Lecture Notes Module 1-5...

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InEd_OCD1 | Woman Holding Bison Horn

This object is made of limestone and dated 25,000 BCE. I've indicated that the medium is painted limestone. Note that the paint has worn away. The title of this work is Woman with Bison Horn, and it is a paleolithic relief sculpture. A relief sculpture is a representation that is carved only on one side. This relief is made using a reductive technique. Material is removed or chipped away rather than added. Like the Woman from Willendorf, Woman with Bison Horn shows a pregnant female with large breasts. Her feet are impractical and her face obscured. Now to be fair, the face may have been damaged. We don't know for sure. The woman has one hand on her belly or uterus, and the other hand holds a horn. In this case, the bison horn is likely a symbol for the male phallus. Scholars conclude this is a representation of fertility. To support this argument, it is relevant to examine paleolithic representations of men. Have a look at this cave painting showing a hunter and bison. The hunter is a stick figure with a large pointed phallus. His spear is on the ground and the bison has been impaled. Notice the animal's small intestines are hanging down. The purpose or use of this relief sculpture is unknown. It is clear, however, that this figure can be related to the plethora of mother goddess images found elsewhere in paleolithic Europe....