11.9 Small ceramic statues of animals

These exhibits are a selection from a whole series of zoomorphic sculptures which were modelled and subsequently fired at the Gravettian settlements beneath the Pavlov Hills, and which make this settlement area one of the oldest centres for ceramic production in the world.

These sculptures are generally not bigger than a few centimetres. They are miniatures with a characteristic basic shape, one which nonetheless captures perfectly the particular animal species. Most finds consist of little heads and limbs, which may represent fragments broken off accidentally, or else deliberately fractured as part of a ritual. Some of these, however, were modelled independently.

Bear sculpture

Dimensions (length): 74 mm

Exhibit type: copy of original (plaster)

Archaeological site: Dolní Věstonice I (Dolní Věstonice, Moravia)

Collection: Moravian Museum in Brno, Czech Republic

Mammoth sculpture

Dimensions (length): 45 mm

Exhibit type: copy of original (plaster)

Archaeological site: Pavlov I (Pavlov near Dolní Věstonice, Moravia)

Collection: Institute of Archaeology of the CAS, Brno v.v.i., Czech Republic

Mammoth sculpture

Dimensions (length): 25 mm

Exhibit type: copy of original (plaster)

Archaeological site: Dolní Věstonice I (Dolní Věstonice, Moravia)

Collection: Natural History Museum, Vienna, Austria

This miniature sculpture, found by Hans Freising on 5 November 1923, was the first extraordinary find at the Dolní Věstonice I site and essentially marked the very beginning of the extensive excavations that followed here.