Ice Age art now

REVIEW BY OSCAR MORO ABADIA

This publication was created to accompany the British Museum Partnership Exhibition Ice Age art now, held at Cliffe Castle Museum in summer 2025. The exhibition showcased the British Museum’s remarkable collection of Pleistocene mobiliary art objects, mostly from southern France. Written by curator Jill Cook (who also curated the 2013 exhibition Ice Age art: arrival of the modern mind), the catalogue presents this collection through the lens of art-historical concepts.

This is perhaps the first point worth noting: this publication primarily presents Pleistocene artwork from a traditional art-historical perspective, rather than an archaeological or anthropological one. This is evident not only in the titles of the various chapters, but also in the categories used to describe the objects (for example, naturalism, realism, abstraction, and so on), as well as in the numerous references to modern artists such as Picasso, Matisse, and others. While this approach is valid – art historians have certainly contributed to our understanding of the many dimensions of prehistoric imagery – it is important to note that art-history categories have been increasingly questioned by archaeologists and anthropologists in recent decades. The main critique is that such frameworks tend to project contemporary conceptions on to the analysis of deep-time images and objects, potentially distorting their original context and meaning.

With this in mind, we can turn to the main chapters that structure this catalogue. The first section, ‘Drawing’, presents a selection of engravings on various materials, including bone, antler, and stone slabs, while the following chapter, ‘Sculpture’, focuses on Palaeolithic three-dimensional imagery, with special reference to the well-known ‘swimming reindeer’ from the Montastruc rock shelter: a decorated baton made from antler. Next comes a chapter on ‘Decorated Equipment’, which presents a range of different decorated objects such as spear throwers and perforated batons. This is followed by a section dedicated to ‘Female Figures’, centring on depictions of women on various portable objects. In Part 5, ‘Patterns’, the author explores several non-figurative motifs and designs that decorate different portable items. Part 6, ‘Personal Ornaments’, discusses a variety of objects interpreted as ornaments (though this category has been the subject of considerable debate among professional archaeologists), including pendants, bones, shell beads, and perforated teeth. A chapter on ‘Methods and Materials’ reflects on the main techniques and raw materials used to produce these artworks. It also presents objects – such as ochre nodules, lamps, and engraving tools – that are thought to have been part of the so-called ‘Palaeolithic artist’s toolkit’. Finally, ‘Images Underground’, concludes with broader reflections on Palaeolithic cave paintings.