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Origin and history

The Venus de Quinipily is a 2.15 m granite statue, depicting a naked woman with her arms crossed under her chest, with a headband. Its origin remains debated: some see it as a Gallo-Roman work (I century B.C.), reported from the Orient by Roman soldiers, while others, such as the Egyptologist Sylvie Caroff, suggest a 17th century sculpture, inspired by the cariatids of the castle of Quinipily. The statue was originally venerated in Bieuzy-les-Eaux under the name of Notre-Dame de la Couarde or Grock er Hoard ("the old guardian" in Breton), object of a local cult considered pagan by the Church.

In the 17th century, the statue was twice cast into the Blavet (1661 and 1670) by order of the Jesuits and the bishop of Vannes, Charles de Rosmadec, to eradicate superstitious practices. The peasants, attributing misfortunes to its disappearance (bad harvests, Claude de Lannion's accident), brought it out every time. In 1695, Pierre de Lannion, Claude's son, took her to the castle of Quinipily at Baud, where she was restored or replaced by a copy. He engraved on his pedestal Latin inscriptions apocryphal, evoking Julius Caesar and an alleged ancient origin.

Ranked a historic monument in 1943, the Venus de Quinipily is based on a monumental granite fountain, including a 3,500-litre monolithic tank, possibly its original niche. His iconography (a scarf reminiscent of Isis, hieratic posture) and his tumultuous history — between destruction, popular worship and seigneurial recovery — make it a symbol of religious syncretism in Brittany. Prosper Mérimée, in 1836, called it a false antique, perhaps inspiring for The Venus d'Ille. Today, it attracts visitors to the park of the ruins of the castle of Quinipily.

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