Indus Valley Civilization

INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION 

 (2500 to 1500 BC)

 THE arts of the Indus Valley Civilization emerged during the second half of the third millennium BCE. The forms of art found from various sites of the civilization include sculptures, seals, pottery, jewellery, terracotta figures, etc. The artists of that time surely had fine artistic sensibilities and a vivid imagination. Their delineation of human and animal figures was highly realistic in nature, since the anatomical details included in them were unique, and, in the case of terracotta art, the modelling of animal figures was done in an extremely careful manner.

The two major sites of the Indus Valley Civilization, along the Indus river the cities of Harappa in the north and Mohenjo-Daro in the south—showcase one of earliest examples of civic planning. Other markers were houses, markets, storage facilities, offices, public baths, etc., arranged in a grid-like pattern. There was also a highly developed drainage system. While Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro are situated in Pakistan, the important sites excavated in India are Lothal and Dholavira in Gujarat, Rakhigarhi in Haryana, Ropar in Punjab, Kalibangan in Rajasthan, etc.

         Stone Statues

The figure of the bearded man, interpreted as a priest, is draped in a shawl coming under the right arm and covering the left shoulder. This shawl is decorated with trefoil patterns. The eyes are a little elongated, and half-closed as in meditative concentration. The nose is well formed and of medium  size; the mouth is of average size with close-cut moustache and a short beard and whiskers; the ears resemble double shells with a hole in the middle. The hair is parted in the middle, and a plain woven fillet is passed round the head. An armlet is worn on the right hand and holes around the neck suggest a necklace.

Bronze Casting

The art of bronze-casting was practised on a wide scale by the Harappans. Their bronze statues were made using the ‘lost wax’ technique in which the wax figures were first covered with a coating of clay and allowed to dry. Then the wax was heated and the molten wax was drained out through a tiny hole made in the clay cover. The hollow mould thus created was filled with molten metal which took the original shape of the object. Once the metal cooled, the clay cover was completely removed. In bronze we find human as well as animal figures, the best example of the former being the statue of a girl popularly titled ‘Dancing Girl’. Amongst animal figures in bronze the buffalo with its uplifted head, back and sweeping horns and the goat are of artistic merit. Bronze casting was popular at all the major centers of the Indus Valley Civilization. The copper dog and bird of Lothal and the bronze figure of a bull from Kalibangan are in no way inferior to the human figures of copper and bronze from Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro. Metal casting appears to be a continuous tradition. The late Harappan and Chalcolithic sites like Daimabad in Maharashtra yielded excellent examples of metal-cast sculptures. They mainly consist of human and animal figures. It shows how the tradition of figure sculpture continued down the ages.

 Terracotta 

           

The Indus Valley people made terracotta images also but compared to the stone and bronze statues the terracotta representations of human form are crude in the Indus Valley. They are more realistic in Gujarat sites and Kalibangan. The most important among the Indus figures are those representing the mother goddess. In terracotta, we also find a few figurines of bearded males with coiled hair, their posture rigidly upright, legs slightly apart, and the arms parallel to the sides of the body. The repetition of this figure in exactly the same position would suggest that he was a deity. A terracotta mask of a horned deity has also been found. Toy carts with wheels, whistles, rattles, birds and animals, gamesmen and discs were also rendered in terracotta.

Seals

• The seals were elegant figures of various animals. These animals included unicorn bison, goat, bull, tiger, elephant, rhinoceros, buffalo, and much more. These figures are depicted very carefully on the seals. The figures are usually made with steatite. The figures are sometimes made of chert, copper, terracotta, ivory, and agate.
• The primary purpose behind the production of seals was to use them commercially. These figures were also called the amulets. Every seal during that time was engraved in the form of a pictographic script. This script is yet to be understood and deciphered.
• The famous Pashupati seal is known for its unique features. It depicts the figure of a human. This human is considered a female deity. The female is believed to be seated in a cross-legged position. The image of a tiger and elephant is also depicted on the right side of the deity figure. A buffalo and rhinoceros can also be seen in the figure. Apart from these images, we can also see a pair of antelopes on the seat.
• The tablets of copper were also used as amulets at this time. The amulets contain a human figure along with an inscription on both sides.

    POTTERY

The Indus Valley pottery consists chiefly of fine wheel-made wares, with very few being hand-made .The Indus valley civilization also had inscriptions of wheels made of wares. A few of them were hand-made also. This type of pottery was also made of red clay. It included a fine or red slip. One example of this is the black painted ware. It had the coating of a red slip. It also had geometric and animal figures on it. The painted Earthen Jar was first found in Mohenjo-Daro.

• Polychrome pottery: This type of polychrome pottery is less found in nature.
• It mainly contains small-sized vases decorated with geometric patterns in yellow, black, and red colours. 
• Incised ware: It is also rarely found, and the incised decoration was bound to the bases of the pans.
• Perforated pottery involves a huge hole at the bottom and small holes around the wall, and it was mainly used for straining beverages. 

    Beads and Ornaments   

                                             

 A well-developed bead industry. Beads and ornaments can be found in the factories of Chanhudaro and Lothal. Necklaces, finger-rings, fillets, and armlets were frequently worn. Women wore anklets and earrings. Material used: Beads were commonly made of amethyst, jasper, carnelian, crystal, steatite, turquoise, quartz,  lapis lazuli, etc. Unique Metals like copper, shell, bronze and gold, faience, and terracotta were also used in the beads. Shapes of beads – Disc-shaped, spherical, barrel-shaped, cylindrical, and segmented.

 Conclusion

The Indus Valley Civilization came up during the second half of the third BCE. Archaeologists have uncovered thousands of seals, most of which are made of steatite, although some are made of agate, chert, or copper. These contained stunning animal models such as a unicorn bull, rhinoceros, tiger, and elephant. The primary reason for creating seals was for business purposes. A considerable amount of pottery discovered from the sites allows us to comprehend the progressive growth of diverse design motifs as used in varied forms and styles. Harappan men and women adorned themselves with a wide range of jewellery made from every imaginable material, including precious metals and jewels, bone, and baked clay.