Venus of Laussel

Venus of Laussel
Tablet on display in the British Museum
MaterialLimestone
SizeHeight: 46 cm
Createdc. 23,000 BC
Discovered1911
Marquay, Dordogne, France
Discovered byJean-Gaston Lalanne
Present locationMusée d'Aquitaine, Bordeaux, France

The Venus of Laussel is an 18.11-inch-high (46.0-centimetre) limestone bas-relief of a nude woman. It is painted with red ochre and was carved into the limestone of a rock shelter (Abri de Laussel) in the commune of Marquay, in the Dordogne department of south-western France. The carving is associated with the Gravettian Upper Paleolithic culture (approximately 25,000 years old). It is currently displayed in the Musée d'Aquitaine in Bordeaux, France.

Detail of the head.
Detail of the right arm and the horn.
Detail of the left arm and hand.