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Megaloceros giganteus - 17,000BCE

Graphics / Intaglio / Dry Point (WIP): Reproduction of prehistoric art featuring an extinct animal:

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"Megaloceros giganteus - 17,000BCE".
Dry Point (state 1, test print). 2020. ~DIN A6

This was an interesting piece to do with lots of embedded history, and some curiousities in the meta information on top. Read more about the object+subject below:

From my notes this is an engraving on a bone awl circa 17,000 BCE found in Glozel (France). I have searched the internet for a photo but could not find any. My notes do not mention the source but I think it was an Art History book.

I've tried to create an engraving that is very true to the original. However, I have lost the source reference, and I do not have the equipment required to make an exact reconstruction (whatever such would be).

Meta

The original motif was incised on a bone awl. Bone awls are often made from deer leg bones, as these are strong. Possibly this deer was carved on a bone from the same species (see below). The instrument used to create a Dry Point engraving is also an awl.

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Drawing for Dry Point engraving. 2020.

Species

I believe that this is the extinct European Giant Deer (A.k.a. the misnomer "Irish elk"). This deer survived until 5,700 BCE.

This is due to (1) the extreme size of the antlers, having (2) two protuding points, and (3) covering the back of the deer. Also, (4) the (less visible) hump on its back (behind the ear).

The Irish elk stood about 2.1 m (6 ft 11 in) tall at the shoulders and carried the largest antlers of any known deer, a maximum of 3.65 m (12.0 ft) from tip to tip and 40 kg (88 lb) in weight. For body size, at about 450–600 kg (990–1,300 lb) and up to 700 kg (1,500 lb) or more...
source

Related links:

The skill level of the artist that created this was (and still is) is amazing. To realize why please see the effort a modern day experimental archaeologist had to go through in order to create something much less sophisticated:

(both links from www.archaeologysouthwest.org)

2020.11.07 19:53 in Graphics

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