Ellipsis discovered by Édouard Piette during excavations of the Magdalenian layers (ca. 15,000 years BP) of the Lortet Cave at Lortet (Hautes-Pyrénées).

This piece, made from reindeer antler, is sculpted in low relief and engraved on both sides. The upper, concave side is decorated with a snake, likely an adder. The oval head and forked tongue are very realistic. On both sides of the reptile's body are geometric patterns, chevrons and vaguely figurative motifs, perhaps bird heads. The convex, highly spongy obverse displays a thick band that ends in a hollow. This could be a second snake, in a material that was more difficult to sculpt.

Object on display at the Piette Gallery and, in the form of a cast, in the Palaeolithic Gallery of the National Archaeology Museum - Domaine national de Saint-Germain-en-Laye. Length = 13.7 cm; Width = 2.5 cm; Thickness = 0.8 cm. MAN47418