The discovery of statues, figurines of men and women in terracotta, stone and metal indicate that people of the area were great artists and sculptors.
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| Sculpture |
Sculpture in Stone: Among the stone images found in Harappa two male statues are noteworthy. One of them is artistically decorated while the other is kept naked. The first statue is that of a yogi, draped in a shawl worn over the left shoulder and under the right arm. His beard is well-kept and his eyes are half-closed. The other figure is a torso of a human male. It is beautiful piece of sculpture made of red stone. The head and arms of the figure were carved separately and socketed into holes drilled on the torso.
Sculpture in Metal: The Harappan artists knew the art of bronze casting. They used the special lost wax process in which the wax figures were covered with a coating of clay. Then the wax was melted by heating and the hollow mould thus created was filled with molten metal which took the original shape of the object. A figure of a female naked dancer was found at Mohen-jo-daro. Necklaces adorn her breast. One of her arms is fully covered with bangles made of bone or ivory. Her eyes are large, nose is flat and the lips are pendulous. Her hair is braided and her head is slightly thrown back. Her limbs suggest graceful lines. Besides the figurine, bronze figures of a buffalo and a humped bull are very artistically designed.
Sculpture in Terracotta: The Indus Valley people practiced sculpture in terracotta. The teracota figure of the Mother Goddess was discovered in Mohen-jo-daro. The figure, with a punched nose and artistic ornamentation laid on the body and pressed on the figure, shows the Mother Goddess as the symbol of fertility and prosperity.
Pottery and Painting: Pottery found in large quantities shows that with the potter's wheel the craftsman produced pottery of various artistic shapes. The special clay for this purpose was baked and the different designs on pots were painted. Figures of birds, animals and men were depicted on the pots. Paintings on the pots show, that these men were equally good at painting.
Sculpture in Stone: Among the stone images found in Harappa two male statues are noteworthy. One of them is artistically decorated while the other is kept naked. The first statue is that of a yogi, draped in a shawl worn over the left shoulder and under the right arm. His beard is well-kept and his eyes are half-closed. The other figure is a torso of a human male. It is beautiful piece of sculpture made of red stone. The head and arms of the figure were carved separately and socketed into holes drilled on the torso.
Sculpture in Metal: The Harappan artists knew the art of bronze casting. They used the special lost wax process in which the wax figures were covered with a coating of clay. Then the wax was melted by heating and the hollow mould thus created was filled with molten metal which took the original shape of the object. A figure of a female naked dancer was found at Mohen-jo-daro. Necklaces adorn her breast. One of her arms is fully covered with bangles made of bone or ivory. Her eyes are large, nose is flat and the lips are pendulous. Her hair is braided and her head is slightly thrown back. Her limbs suggest graceful lines. Besides the figurine, bronze figures of a buffalo and a humped bull are very artistically designed.
Sculpture in Terracotta: The Indus Valley people practiced sculpture in terracotta. The teracota figure of the Mother Goddess was discovered in Mohen-jo-daro. The figure, with a punched nose and artistic ornamentation laid on the body and pressed on the figure, shows the Mother Goddess as the symbol of fertility and prosperity.
Pottery and Painting: Pottery found in large quantities shows that with the potter's wheel the craftsman produced pottery of various artistic shapes. The special clay for this purpose was baked and the different designs on pots were painted. Figures of birds, animals and men were depicted on the pots. Paintings on the pots show, that these men were equally good at painting.
Sculpture in Metal: The Harappan artists knew the art of bronze casting. They used the special lost wax process in which the wax figures were covered with a coating of clay. Then the wax was melted by heating and the hollow mould thus created was filled with molten metal which took the original shape of the object. A figure of a female naked dancer was found at Mohen-jo-daro. Necklaces adorn her breast. One of her arms is fully covered with bangles made of bone or ivory. Her eyes are large, nose is flat and the lips are pendulous. Her hair is braided and her head is slightly thrown back. Her limbs suggest graceful lines. Besides the figurine, bronze figures of a buffalo and a humped bull are very artistically designed.
Sculpture in Terracotta: The Indus Valley people practiced sculpture in terracotta. The teracota figure of the Mother Goddess was discovered in Mohen-jo-daro. The figure, with a punched nose and artistic ornamentation laid on the body and pressed on the figure, shows the Mother Goddess as the symbol of fertility and prosperity.
Pottery and Painting: Pottery found in large quantities shows that with the potter's wheel the craftsman produced pottery of various artistic shapes. The special clay for this purpose was baked and the different designs on pots were painted. Figures of birds, animals and men were depicted on the pots. Paintings on the pots show, that these men were equally good at painting.
Sculpture in Terracotta: The Indus Valley people practiced sculpture in terracotta. The teracota figure of the Mother Goddess was discovered in Mohen-jo-daro. The figure, with a punched nose and artistic ornamentation laid on the body and pressed on the figure, shows the Mother Goddess as the symbol of fertility and prosperity.
Pottery and Painting: Pottery found in large quantities shows that with the potter's wheel the craftsman produced pottery of various artistic shapes. The special clay for this purpose was baked and the different designs on pots were painted. Figures of birds, animals and men were depicted on the pots. Paintings on the pots show, that these men were equally good at painting.
Pottery and Painting: Pottery found in large quantities shows that with the potter's wheel the craftsman produced pottery of various artistic shapes. The special clay for this purpose was baked and the different designs on pots were painted. Figures of birds, animals and men were depicted on the pots. Paintings on the pots show, that these men were equally good at painting.
Script
The writing was generally from left to right, but in some cases it was in the opposite direction i.e., right to left in the first line and left to right in the second. The Indus Valley script resembles the script of the ancient Mesopotamian people. Dr. S.R. Rao in his research work Decipherment of the Indus Script holds that the Indus Valley people used the phonetic script and in the late Harappan period the script evolved itself towards and alphabetic pattern. He says that numerals were shown by corresponding numbers of independent vertical lines. However, the Indus script remains to be a puzzle to the historians and thus the riches of this civilization remain unrevealed until this script is interpreted.
The writing was generally from left to right, but in some cases it was in the opposite direction i.e., right to left in the first line and left to right in the second. The Indus Valley script resembles the script of the ancient Mesopotamian people. Dr. S.R. Rao in his research work Decipherment of the Indus Script holds that the Indus Valley people used the phonetic script and in the late Harappan period the script evolved itself towards and alphabetic pattern. He says that numerals were shown by corresponding numbers of independent vertical lines. However, the Indus script remains to be a puzzle to the historians and thus the riches of this civilization remain unrevealed until this script is interpreted.
The seals even have an inscription of a sort of pictorial writing. Most of the seals have a knob at the back through which runs a hole. It is said that these seals were used by different associations or merchants for stamping purposes. They were also worn round the neck or the arm.
The seals even have an inscription of a sort of pictorial writing. Most of the seals have a knob at the back through which runs a hole. It is said that these seals were used by different associations or merchants for stamping purposes. They were also worn round the neck or the arm.
Seals
The seals show the culture and civilization of the Indus Valley people. In particular, they indicate:
- Dresses, ornaments, hair-styles of people.
- Skill of artists and sculptors.
- Trade contacts and commercial relations.
- Religious beliefs.
- Script.
The Pashupati Seal: This seal depicts a yogi, probably Lord Shiva. A pair of horns crown his head. He is surrounded by a rhino, a buffalo, an elephant and a tiger. Under his throne are two deer. This seal shows that Shiva was worshipped and he was considered as the Lord of animals (Pashupati).
The Unicorn Seal: The unicorn is a mythological animal. This seal shows that at a very early stage of civilization, humans had produced many creations of imagination in the shape of bird and animal motifs that survived in later art.
The Bull Seal: This seal depicts a humped bull of great vigour. The figure shows the artistic skill and a good knowledge of animal anatomy.
mainly in stone, metal and terra-cotta. The famous bust of the bearded man, and the male torso are examples of such work. The Indus Valley Civilization had also made great advances in metal sculptures using a fascinating technique to make sculptures out of bronze. The process was known as the lost wax process. In this process the sculptures were first made out of wax. A layer of clay was then put over this wax, and the sculpture was then heated. This resulted in the melting of the wax, leaving behind a hollow mould. Molten metal was then poured into this mould. After cooling the clay was removed, and a metal sculpture remained. A beautiful example of such work, is the naked dancing girl found at Mohenjo-Daro. She is covered with jewellery, wearing several necklaces and bangles. Bronze figures of buffalos and the humped bull have also been found. The Indus Valley Civilization also made several sculptures out of terra-cotta, a fine example being a figure of the Mother Goddess. It shows the Mother Goddess as a mark of fertility and prosperity. The Indus Valley Civilization had also developed skills in pottery and painting. They used a special type of clay, which was baked. Once the pot was made, the painters would paint beautiful designs, the theme being birds, animals and men. The quality of
The Unicorn Seal: This is based on a fictional animal that the Indus Valley Civilization people had conjured up. It is an example of early fictional art.
The figure has been made well, a proof of the fine artistic skills acquired by the people of that time.mainly in stone, metal and terra-cotta. The famous bust of the bearded man, and the male torso are examples of such work. The Indus Valley Civilization had also made great advances in metal sculptures using a fascinating technique to make sculptures out of bronze. The process was known as the lost wax process. In this process the sculptures were first made out of wax. A layer of clay was then put over this wax, and the sculpture was then heated. This resulted in the melting of the wax, leaving behind a hollow mould. Molten metal was then poured into this mould. After cooling the clay was removed, and a metal sculpture remained. A beautiful example of such work, is the naked dancing girl found at Mohenjo-Daro. She is covered with jewellery, wearing several necklaces and bangles. Bronze figures of buffalos and the humped bull have also been found. The Indus Valley Civilization also made several sculptures out of terra-cotta, a fine example being a figure of the Mother Goddess. It shows the Mother Goddess as a mark of fertility and prosperity. The Indus Valley Civilization had also developed skills in pottery and painting. They used a special type of clay, which was baked. Once the pot was made, the painters would paint beautiful designs, the theme being birds, animals and men. The quality ofThe Unicorn Seal: This is based on a fictional animal that the Indus Valley Civilization people had conjured up. It is an example of early fictional art.The Indus Valley people had some knowledge of the art of writing, though in a rudimentary way. No regular documents on stone or baked clay tablets have been found but the numerous seals, representing unicorns and bulls and other objects give us the idea that the people had a language of their own. Some historians are of the view that the script found on the seals are similar to the ones used in Egypt, Sumeria and other countries of Western Asia. The script is pictographic, but still remains un-deciphered though there are nearly four hundred signs.
The most interesting part of the discovery relates to the seals-more than 2000 in number, made of soapstone, terracotta and copper. The seals give us useful information about the civilization of Indus valley. Some seals have human or animal figures on them. Most of the seals have the figures of real animals while a few bear the figure of mythical animals. The seals are rectangular, circular or even cylindrical in shape.
The Pashupati Seal: This seal depicts what is probably the modern Hindu God, Shiv. Lord Shiv is surrounded by various animals like the rhino, the buffalo, the elephant and the
The Pashupati Seal: This seal depicts what is probably the modern Hindu God, Shiv. Lord Shiv is surrounded by various animals like the rhino, the buffalo, the elephant and the
The Indus Valley Civilization had developed skills in pottery, painting and sculpture amongst others. Sculpture appeared to have made great advancements based on the various artifacts that have been found. The Indus Valley Civilization made sculptures
painting on these pots show that the Indus Valley Civilization had some talented artists.
The Indus Valley Civilization is famous for the enigmatic seals that were discovered at the various cities. These seals usually had some animal or human engraved on them along with a script at the bottom which has not been deciphered as yet. The seals were apparently used by merchants in trade, as a means of identifying their goods. The Indus Valley Civilization had flourishing trade relations with various parts of Asia, and the large number of unique seals discovered indicates that there was a large trading community. Some of the important seals, which had been found frequently are:
tiger. He wears a crown of horns on his head. He is believed to have been considered by the Indus Valley Civilization people as the lord of the animals.
The Bull Seal: The Bull seal, shows a humped bull displaying a strong and energetic bull.
The Indus Valley Civilization had developed skills in pottery, painting and sculpture amongst others. Sculpture appeared to have made great advancements based on the various artifacts that have been found. The Indus Valley Civilization made sculptures
painting on these pots show that the Indus Valley Civilization had some talented artists.
The Indus Valley Civilization is famous for the enigmatic seals that were discovered at the various cities. These seals usually had some animal or human engraved on them along with a script at the bottom which has not been deciphered as yet. The seals were apparently used by merchants in trade, as a means of identifying their goods. The Indus Valley Civilization had flourishing trade relations with various parts of Asia, and the large number of unique seals discovered indicates that there was a large trading community. Some of the important seals, which had been found frequently are:
tiger. He wears a crown of horns on his head. He is believed to have been considered by the Indus Valley Civilization people as the lord of the animals.
The Bull Seal: The Bull seal, shows a humped bull displaying a strong and energetic bull. The figure has been made well, a proof of the fine artistic skills acquired by the people of that time.
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