Stone Statues and Bronze Casting

The Indus Valley Civilisation came up during the period of the second half of the third BCE. The artists of that time had fine artistic sensibilities. Their way of depicting and portraying humans and animal sculptures and figures was highly unique. The sculptures and statues made by them were new and specific to the Indus valley civilization sites. 

The important sites of the Indus valley civilization are the Harappa and the Mohenjo-Daro. These sites are evidence of one of the earliest planning of society and civilization. The houses, storage facilities, and markets were developed in the form of grids. The roads of the Indus valley civilization were made by carving a  90-degree-angle cut. The cities of the Indus valley civilization were also divided into various blocks. The Indus valley civilization sites also had a proper drainage system.

Other Sites of the Indus Valley Civilisation:

The essential sites of the evidence of Indus Valley Civilisation are as follows:

• In Pakistan: Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro 
• Lothal, Dholavira, Surkotada– Gujarat

• Ropar – Punjab
• Rakhigarh and Banawali – Haryana
• Balata and Kalibangan– Rajasthan

Various forms of art:

The forms of art and sculpture that are found from different Indus valley civilization sites include jewellery, seals, sculpture, pottery, terracotta figures, etc.

• Stone Statues: The stone sculpture and statues are great examples of managing and handling the concept of three-dimensional volumes by people of the Indus valley civilization. Two statues that implement this technique include a male torso and the other is a bearded man

Male Torso:

• It is made of red sandstone
• It has socket holes in the neck
• The holes are attached to the shoulders of the statue for the proper attachment of the head as well as arms
• The front part of the male torso has been carefully planned and adopted
• The shoulders of this statue are properly made

Bearded man:

• The figure is of a priest who is covered with a small-sized shawl with beautiful trefoil patterns
• The eyes of this man are elongated
• The ears of the bearded man are similar to double shells
• An armlet is noticed on his right hand
• The holes around the neck give a hint that the man used to wear a necklace
• Bronze Casting: Bronze-casting was used by the people of Harappa on a wide scale
• Bronze statues consisting of human as well as animal figures were made to implement the “lost wax” technique in Indus valley civilization sites

Prominent examples:

• The Dancing Girl statue from Mohenjo-Daro

• The figure of buffalo with an uplifted head
• It also had sweeping as well as back horns
• Copper Bird and dog from Lothal
• A Bull from Kalibangan

• The other late Harappan and Chalcolithic sites included places like Daimabad in Maharashtra. It yielded many good examples of metal-cast and sculptures

• Terracotta: Compared to the other forms like stone and bronze statues, the art of terracotta representations, which included human forms, is also seen in the Indus Valley civilization. The images made of terracotta were a lot more realistic in the states like Gujarat and Kalibangan. Some  examples are:
• Mother Goddess:  It is the most important terracotta figure with the following features
• Crude standing female figures
• These females are also covered with necklaces
•  The necklaces hung from their breasts
• The lady is shown wearing a loincloth along with a girdle  
• The fan-shaped headdress is present on each side
• Toys: It includes carts, wheels, whistles, rattles, birds and animals, gamesmen, and discs
• Masks: A terracotta sculpture that was a mask of a horned deity was found by the archaeologists

Bronze Castings: Dancing Girl and Bull

Dancing Girl Statue: This sculpture was found in Mohenjo Daro. It is a famous artefact of Indus valley civilization sites. The specifications of this sculpture are:

• It is a four-inch-high copper image 
• The sculpture is of a dancing girl
• It shows a girl who has long hair 
• These hairs are tied in a bun
• She has large eyes and a flat nose
• The left arm is covered with Bangles
• On her right arm, there is a bracelet and an amulet
• Around the neck, we can see a cowry shell necklace 
• The right hand of the girl is on her hip
• Her left hand is in a traditional Indian dance form making the tribhanga posture
• The figure is full of expression and bodily vigour

Bull: This bronze figure of the bull is from Mohenjo Daro. The animal can be seen standing and his head turned in the right direction.

Harappa and Mohenjodaro are both presently situated in the areas of West Pakistan. Around hundreds of Indus valley civilization sites and its culture were found in various parts of India. The end of the Indus valley civilization came in around C.1500 B.C. due to the invasion of the Aryan culture. There is no evidence of plastic products in the Indus valley civilization. Wood and clay were used to carve out sculptures at that time. 

The study of human settlement is very common to human civilizations as a form of Indus valley civilization sites.  Any certain region of the site shows the human relationship with the environment. The human settlements are differentiated in terms of urban and rural, nature of activities, functions, structure, population, etc. There is no consistency in the settlements’ differentiation.  Generally, the Indus valley civilization sites are built near water bodies such as lakes, springs, and rivers. At times, the need for water drives people to settle in there.

Conclusion

The Indus Valley civilization is one of the most unique and earliest forms of civilization that existed in the world. It emerged during the second half of the third millennium, which is also known as the Bronze Age. These forms of art and sculpture are found and excavated from various sites of civilization, including sculpture, pottery, seals, gold, terracotta figures, ornaments, and much more. This delineation of human figures and stone statues made by the artisans of that time was done diligently in Indus valley civilization sites.