Different Art forms of Indus valley Civilization

Details

Metal Sculptures of Indus Valley Civilization

• Harappan artisans were particularly skilled in bronze casting, using the lost-wax process to create intricate figurines. This technique, also known as cire-perdue, involves creating a mold from a wax model. Once the mold is prepared, the wax is melted and drained away, leaving a cavity into which molten metal is poured. A heat-resistant core can be used to create a hollow interior, ensuring that the molten metal doesn’t completely fill the mold, thus producing the desired hollow structure in the final piece.
• The bronze dancing girl statue discovered at Mohenjodaro is perhaps the greatest surviving achievement of the metal work of the Harappan age. This world-famous figure shows a female dancing figure standing as if relaxing after a dance, with her right hand on her hip and the left dangling free. She wears a large number of bangles, probably made of bone or ivory on her left arm together with a couple of pairs on her right arm.
• Bronze figures of a humped bull and a buffalo are the other metal sculptures made during this period.

Stone Sculptures of Indus Valley Civilization

• Several specimens of stone sculptures which were crafted during the civilization have been excavated. Out of these, two statues deserve a special mention and consist of the statue of the ‘Bearded Man’ and ‘Human Torso’.
• One will derive the idea of a high priest or a king clad in a shawl draped over the left shoulder, with a well maintained beard, if he observes the figure of the Bearded Man. Found in Mohenjodaro, it was made of Steatite
• Another impressive stone sculpted statue is that of a naked human male torso, made in red stone. The arms and head of this idol have been created separately. It was found in Harappa.

Terracotta Sculpture of Indus Valley Civilization

• Terracotta art was also practised by the people of Indus Valley.
• The figure of the Mother Goddess crafted in terracotta, discovered in Mohen-jo-Daro is one of the significant terracotta sculptures of this age.
• It consists of beautiful embellishments of the body and a punched nose, and reveals the concept of the Mother Goddess as a sign of prosperity and fertility.
• Terracotta seals were also manufactured. These seals included the carvings of peepal leaves, female figurine with forms of deities and animals.
• The toy animal, with a moveable head from Mohenjodaro, belonging to the same period i.e. 2500 BCE, is one of the most interesting objects found during the excavations.
• Large number of seals made of steatite, terracotta and copper of various shapes and sizes have also been discovered.
• The standard Harappan seal was a square plaque 2x 2 square inches, usually made from the soft river stone, steatite.
• Seals bear a great variety of motifs, most often of animals including those of the bull, with or without the hump, the elephant, tiger, goat etc. 
• Sometimes trees or human figures were also depicted. The most remarkable seal is the one depicted with a figure in the centre and animals around. This seal is identified as the Pashupati Seal. This seal depicts a human figure seated cross-legged. An elephant and a tiger are depicted to the right side of the seated figure, while on the left a rhinoceros and a buffalo are seen. In addition to these animals two antelopes are shown below the seat.

Beads and Ornaments

• The Harappan men and women decorated themselves with a large variety of ornaments produced from every conceivable material ranging from precious metals and gemstones to bone and baked clay.
• The bead industry seems to have been well developed as evident from the factories discovered at Chanhudaro and Lothal. Beads were made of cornelian, amethyst, jasper, crystal, quartz, steatite, turquoise, lapis lazuli, Ancient stwrM in Sanchi etc.
• Metals like copper, bronze and gold, and shell, faience and terracotta or burnt clay were also used for manufacturing beads. The beads are in varying shapes—disc-shaped, cylindrical, spherical, barrelshaped, and segmented. Some beads were made of two or more stones cemented together, some of stone with gold covers. Some were decorated by incising or painting and some had designs etched onto them. Great technical skill has been displayed in the manufacture of these beads.
• The Harappan people also made brilliantly naturalistic models of animals, especially monkeys and squirrels, used as pin-heads and beads.

Pottery

• The potteries found at the excavation sites can be broadly classified into two kinds – plain pottery and painted pottery. The painted pottery is also known as Red and Black Pottery as it used red colour to paint the background and glossy black paint was used to draw designs and figures on the red background. Trees, birds, animal figures and geometrical patterns were the recurring themes of the paintings.
• Most of the potteries that have been found are very fine wheel-made wares, with a very few being handmade. Some examples of polychrome pottery have also been found, though very rare. The potteries were used for three main purposes:
  • Plain pottery was used for household purposes, mainly storage of grains and water.
  • Miniature vessels, generally less than half an inch in size, were used for decorative purposes.
  • Some of the potteries were perforated – with a large hole in the bottom and small holes across the sides. They might have been used for straining liquor.