gravettianvenusfigurines.com

I have discovered a previously unknown Collection of 106 pieces of Ancient Art/Artifacts, collected in France and Germany by amateur Archaeological Artifact Collectors in the 19th Century.  These objects were previously held in a lengthy series of Private Native American Art/Artifact Collections dating back to H.L. Johnson (1880-1931) of Clarksville,TN, a well known early 20th Century Tobacco Farmer and Collector.  He is known from an August 27,1916 letter to him authored by the Dean of American Archaeology/Anthropology, and Head Curator of Anthropology at the Smithsonian Institute, regarding Prof. Holms' assessment of photos of 3 Female Figurines and a Mammoth Ivory Spear Thrower, discovered in a railway cut near Berlin,Germany and sent to him by Mr. Johnson.  All of these items may be viewed on our Website: gravettianvenusfigurines.com, as well as extensive documentation in the "COLLECTION NOTES" Section, including the Holmes Letter.  The Collection Notes are photocopies of those made by the late, noted Native American Artifact Collector Earl Townsend,Jr. of Indianapolis,IN, whose Collections have been broken up and sold by surviving family over the past 2 years.  Most of the items in my Collection were previously collected by the late Clem Caldwell of Danville,KY, also a Tobacco Farmer.  Mr. Townsend's Notes indicate that he collected many of the items in the early 1950's from the extensive 4,000,000 item Native American Artifact Collection of George Heye of NYC.  Apparently the 2 Mid-western Collectors competed with eachother in acquiring the very rare and unusual European Ice Age Art viewable on the above noted Website.

The purpose of this Blog is to generate any further information that may still be available among Native American Artifact Collectors, Art Historians, Anthropologist/Archaeologists, or anyone else who might be able to provide further information on the history and Provenance of these amazing c.26,000 y.o. objects.

Speculations on the Symbolic Meaning(s) and Practical Functions of these objects  has been extensive over the past 100 years.  I have my own, soon to be published.  What are yours?