Original in mammoth ivory.
Caves of Espélugues, Lourdes (Hautes-Pyrénées)
Excavations Leon Nelli, 1886-1889
Saint-Germain-en-Laye, museum of national Archaeology
This statuette of horse has been discovered at the end of the 19th century in the cave of Espélugues at Lourdes, in the Hautes-Pyrénées. It is allotted to the Magdalenian period (around -15 000 years).
Worked in mammoth ivory, rare material in Western Europe, this figurine shows a great control of the sculpture and engraving.
The horse is returned in a very realistic way, as well on the level of its anatomy as of its attitude, with many details.
It should be said that the prehistoric men knew well the wild horses which they hunted daily.
