Jet Female Figurine
Pendant in the form of a female figure
Petersfels type, Germany
End of the Magdalenian
Around 15,000 years
The general silhouette is characteristic and is clearly reminiscent of Roche and Gönnersdorf type engravings as well as claviform symbols in rock art.
H. Delporte, L’image de la femme dans l’art préhistorique. Picard, Paris, 1979
Commentary :
At the end of the Magdalenian, coincident with a period of climatic warming, large numbers of schematic female figurines appear.
The female body is systematically depicted in profile, without head or individualized limbs.
This new approach to the female figure reflects cultural traditions that emerged in an area undergoing climatic and landscape changes.
The schematic jet statuettes of Petersfels mark the disappearance from Western Europe of the long figurative tradition of hunter-gatherer artists. They are the first signs of a profound revolution in symbols and life-ways.