{"product_id":"valdivian-terracotta-bust-of-venus","title":"Valdivian Terracotta Bust of ‘Venus’","description":"\u003cp\u003eEcuador, Ca. 2300-2000 B.C.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePreserved is the upper portion (bust and head) of a female figurine modeled in burnished brown clay. The face is rendered in a flat, slightly recessed plane with incised slit eyes, a pinched nose, and a small mouth. The most striking feature is the elaborate coiffure — a large, voluminous hairstyle rendered with finely incised radiating lines that fan outward from the crown, characteristic of Valdivia Venus figures. A portion of the neck and upper chest survives, broken at the torso. The fragment retains small applied earring-like projections or perforations at the sides of the head near the jaw.\u003cbr\u003eThe Valdivia culture is renowned for producing the earliest known pottery figurines in the Western Hemisphere.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eValdivia figurines were individually hand-modeled from single blocks of clay, typically by joining two rolls — the lower portion forming legs and the upper forming torso and head. The elaborate hairstyles are a hallmark of the type and may have served as distinguishing features for individual figurines. These \"Venus\" figures are believed to have been used in shamanistic and fertility rituals, and many possess both feminine and masculine attributes.Size 2-5\/8 inches H.  4-3\/4 in custom wood block stand. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e This little fragment of a figurine is from the culture from which the earliest representations of pottery figurines have thus far been found in the new world. Ex Private Florida Collection.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Art for Eternity","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53324180947258,"sku":"17477","price":425.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0775\/5120\/6714\/files\/17477blu.jpg?v=1776288287","url":"https:\/\/howardnowes.com\/products\/valdivian-terracotta-bust-of-venus","provider":"Art for Eternity","version":"1.0","type":"link"}