The Lady of Brassempouy

Linnaeus

Hello all,

A bit of lyrical musing today, on one of the most splendid wonders of a faraway past:

We behold a melancholy, mysterious face which gazes inward, rather than at us. The renowned Lady of Brassempouy has the delicate features of a teenager; yet she is all of 25,000 years old. A true Grande Dame from Palaeolithic France: but whether she was a goddess, a priestess or an ideal image of feminine beauty, we do not know. The Lady herself does not provide us with answers; she could not even if she so wished, because her portrait, carved in fine ivory, lacks a mouth. Rather like Captain Harlock's spiritual companion Meemay, whom she resembles. The Lady of Brassempouy was deliberately created without a mouth; which means, that the secrets she bears are not for the profane to hear. Nevertheless, this arcane ivory bust from the distant Gravettian period seems to search for those chosen few among us...the enlightened of the Technological Age...who are capable of understanding her profound silent mysteries, even though she will not utter them vocally. The deep truths borne by the Lady of Brassempouy are not for the vulgar. They are to be discovered not by the senses but only by inner reflection...Just as our sensitive ancestors of the Palaeolithic, the first true human beings, the first true artists in every sense, did in that long ago time when the Lady of Brassempouy was sculpted.

In spite of all its dangers, the Gravettian must have been a marvellous time in which to live.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_of_Brassempouy

Adam Khor

Nice, I hadn´t heard about this one. It does look like a lady but since it's just the head, I suposse it could just as easily be a boy...

Me, I'm partial to this other prehistoric piece. Probably not as pretty but, c´mon, Ice Age werelion? :pac:

Linnaeus

Very Egyptian-looking, this ivory piece. A splendid work of prehistoric art, very expressive. Do you think it might represent a shaman with a lion mask? Or a kind of nature deity?

Divinities in the Palaeolithic were usually male...It's extremely rare to find any statues or graphic depictions of men which could indicate divine figures.

I don't think that any boy, from the Palaeolithic to the present, would have been so extravagant as to have worn such a hairdo as the Brassempouy individual...Not even Boy George...Which is why I will continue to call her the Lady.

Adam Khor

Linnaeus wrote: »

Very Egyptian-looking, this ivory piece. A splendid work of prehistoric art, very expressive. Do you think it might represent a shaman with a lion mask? Or a kind of nature deity?

Honestly I have no idea. But almost all cultures have myths about shapeshifters so maybe it's somehow equivalent to say, the werejaguars of Mesoamerica:

Linnaeus wrote: »

Divinities in the Palaeolithic were usually male...It's extremely rare to find any statues or graphic depictions of men which could indicate divine figures.

I take it you meant female.

Linnaeus wrote: »

I don't think that any boy, from the Palaeolithic to the present, would have been so extravagant as to have worn such a hairdo as the Brassempouy individual...Not even Boy George...Which is why I will continue to call her the Lady.

Yeh, the neck is quite long and thin, even if stylized. I do think it's a woman but how to be sure without the rest of the body?

I don´t think the hairdo is that extravagant.

Linnaeus

Hello,

I've been quite ill again, and haven't been able to answer your latest comments. Hope to do so in a day or so.

Adam Khor

Sorry to hear that, here's hoping you get better soon.