Head-fragment of a "Venus of Valdivia" · Ecuador, Valdivia · ID: 3038707
not available anymore
Provenance
Bertrand de ParsevalFerdinand Anton, Munich, Germany
Robert Zink, Ludwigshafen, Germany
Size
H: 4,2 cm
H: 1.7 inch
Description
burnished clay, characteristic bonnet-shaped hairdo, incised physiognomy;
people used to stick such figures in the ground of their cropland. This ritual “burial” of the magical idols should strengthen Mother-Earth and encourage her fertility. Quite frequently the figurines were found broken to pieces on purpose, often only their heads were left. Research calls this an act of “ritual killing”.
Comparing literature
Hoffmann, Ulrich (Hg.), Frauen des alten Amerika in Kult und Alltag, Stuttgart 2001, p. 25 f.