Title: The Venus of Tacarigua

This artwork is part of the series “Make It Rain Fire: Ancient Wisdom Of The Divine Feminine”. 

The Venus of Tacarigua is the name given to a collection of beautiful pre-Columbian fertility statuettes, iconic to Venezuela’s central-coastal region; in particular, the area surrounding the Tacarigua Lake (Lago de Valencia), originally inhabited by the Tacariguas, an indigenous group linguistically affiliated to the Caribe-Arawak tribes.

These figurines, conceptualized the idea of sacred sexuality within our native societies. Their common features established an artistic uniformity within the indigenous pottery practice: nude femininity accentuated in voluptuous legs, strong hips, and prominent vulvas, common representations of fertility.

Their average dimensions fall somewhere between 7 to 18 centimeters high (2.75" - 7.0"). In addition, these clay statuettes exhibit body scarification and tribal markings, attesting to the artistic bodily traditions, common in these indigenous societies.

About 20% of these figurines have been found in the archipelago of Los Roques, located in the Caribbean Sea. It is said that the Tacarigua indians, traveled to this archipelago in search of botuto, the largest snail in the Caribbean -an essential resource for indigenous merchants.

The trip from the Venezuelan coast to the archipelago, comprises a trajectory of approximately 135 kilometers; anthropologists believe that Tacarigua sailors performed a ritual of gratitude to the Caribbean Sea, by offering the clay Venuses to the ocean, in order to appease its waters, scare away evil spirits, and vindicate the symbiotic relationship between indigenous societies and nature.

The Venus of Tacarigua is an important representation of the role of women in matriarchal indigenous societies, demonstrating a high level of respectability, given the reproductive capacity during times of high mortality, hence, imposing herself as a Caribbean goddess.

 

Certificate of Authenticity included.

 

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