The state Hermitage museum in St. Petersburg lends his eldest treasure soon to its namesake in Amsterdam. It is a picture of an estimated of 23,000 years ago, in 1983, at the place Kostjonki in the Voronezh region in Central Russia is found.
The Dutch Hermitage may the fist-sized sandstone statue showing on its jubileumexpo Treasure trove!, in February open.
The museum celebrates his tenth anniversary with a kind of encyclopaedic overview of highlights of what the man yet art and culture has produced: for example, a golden laurel wreath from ancient Rome to contemporary installations.
The statue is a female figure with large breasts and a big belly, probably religious uses in connection with fertility.
« It’s amazing that this image still largely intact. There are more, but those were almost all broken, probably as a closure Jojobet of the ceremony for which they were used, » says the st Petersburg conservator Svetlana Demeshenko.
« The head was broken off, but we taped », she reveals. The legs are not quite complete.
Image is very similar to Venus of Willendorf
The sculpture exhibits strong similarities with the in Austria found Venus of Willendorf. Just like on this picture, yet what parent, on the Russian specimen has a tiny amount of red ochre found, plus some yellow.
Other archaeological treasures for Treasure! for example, from a burial mound from the third century before Christ, who in 1949 was dug out in the Russian Altay. Come to Amsterdam a zwaanachtige bird from the grave, which felt was made but still perfect.
Also go a paardenhoofdstel and saddle with an also amazingly well preserved silk saddle cloth to the Netherlands. Additional striking feature of the bridle is a kind of antlers as decoration.
Items are in good condition because they are in the ice layers of
According to curator Elena Stepanova are the objects from the tomb so spectacular in condition preserved because they are in the ice layers. Normally his bridle and saddle hanging in a display case, but in Amsterdam, they are on a horse made of plastic shown.
Two-thirds of the two hundred pieces that are in Russia on the hall. The Hermitage amsterdam borrows not for nothing is so excellent. Director Mikhail Piotrovsky is happy with the satellietvestiging in Amsterdam. The Hermitage wants to be visible worldwide, » he says. « It is a comprehensive museum of all sorts of cultures together. »
