The Willendorf

I have recently written a paper about my encounters with the Willendorf Goddess, particularly in relation to her agency, vitality and ability to subvert dualisms. I thought, therefore, that this blog entry would be about her. For the uninitiated, the Willendorf Goddess, sometimes referred to as the Venus of Willendorf, is a small female Paleolithic figurine estimated to be around 25,000 to 28,000 years old. Discovered in 1908 near Willendorf, Austria, she is carved from oolitic limestone and tinted with red ochre. She stands at 11 cm tall, and is characterised by her exaggerated breasts, abdomen, and hips, with detailed vulva and a head covered in concentric rows of what could be braids, a woven hat, or symbolic patterning. She has no facial features nor feet and the interpretation of this enigmatic figure ranges from a fertility idol to the representation of an earth mother.

Upon discovering the Willendorf back in the early 2000s, I became transfixed and started to mould my own versions of her using clay. Now I have other versions of her including a small bronze Willendorf, a rose quartz Willendorf and my Willendorf tattoo, however, I have yet to see the original in the flesh. There are many books out there about goddess figurines like the Willendorf, but the one that holds a special place in my heart (and was my first book) is Marija Gimbutas’s The Language of the Goddess which is definitely worth a read.