The “Lady with the Hood”

The “Lady with the Hood” or “Dame de Brassempouy” is the most famous and most moving of prehistoric works of art, as she brings us the most real and lifelike image of Palaeolithic woman.

The techniques used to make this statuette are very complex and achieve great visual qualities: incisions for the chequerboard pattern and the facial features, perforation for the pupil of the eyes, scraping and polishing to model the face.

This “first human face”, sculpted from the ivory core of a mammoth tusk, is very striking. It is sub-triangular in shape and well balanced. The forehead, eyebrows, nose and chin are in relief. The only visible part of the eyes is the pupil, particularly the one on the right.