The Venus of Dolní Věstonice is a figurine of a woman from the Ice Age and a world-famous archaeological artefact. It was discovered in 1925 by Professor Karel Absolon in the cadastral territory of the municipality of Dolní Věstonice.[2] It is a national cultural monument and is owned by the Moravské zemské muzeum in Brno, which, according to the source, lent it to London.[1]
Significance of the object
The director of the Moravské zemské muzeum, Martin Reissner, calls it the oldest fired clay sculpture in the world. For that very reason the museum displays it only on special occasions and otherwise keeps it in a safe; visitors to the museum thus see its copies.[1]
Exhibition in London in 2013
At the exhibition Ice Age Art, which opened in February 2013 at the British Museum in London, the Venus of Dolní Věstonice was among more than twenty objects lent by the Moravské zemské muzeum. The loan lasted until 26 May, when the exhibition ended. According to Reissner, the security measures met the standard of the British exhibition hall, and the museum provided the loan voluntarily and without financial reward. Alongside it the British museum displayed, for example, the sculpture of a man regarded as the oldest surviving puppet.[1]
Dispute over the second figurine
The Czech Television documentary The Secret of the Věstonice Venuses from 2014 recalls an archaeological dispute from the turn of the 1920s and 1930s. Alongside the figurine that was found, another female figurine, which was said to come from Horní Věstonice, enjoyed almost the same popularity in the interwar period. Absolon regarded it as a forgery, while others defended its authenticity. The dispute went beyond the borders of Czechoslovakia and resulted in several court proceedings. The figurine eventually disappeared and was probably sold to Germany.[2]
Its fate was later investigated by Associate Professor Karel Valoch, who was led to the matter by his brother-in-law, a participant in the dispute at the time. In 2014 the documentary maker Karel Špalek began working on the matter together with him, and the pair used court files of the period, memoirs and correspondence.[2]