The arts of the Indus Valley civilization, one of the world's first civilisations, appeared in the second millennium (Bronze Age). Sculptures, seals, ceramics, gold jewellery, terracotta figurines, and other types of art have been discovered at many civilization sites. Their renderings of human and animal forms were extremely lifelike. The modelling of figures was done with utmost caution. Along the Indus River, there are two significant sites of Indus Valley civilization: Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro. This article will explain to you the Indus valley art which will be helpful in Ancient History preparation for the UPSC Civil service exam.

Indus valley art

• During the second part of the third millennium BCE, the arts of the Indus Valley Civilisation arose.
• Sculptures, seals, ceramics, jewellery, terracotta figurines, and other types of art have been discovered at numerous locations across the civilization.
• The painters of the day had to have had strong creative senses as well as a vivid imagination.
• The anatomical elements included in them were unique, their delineation of human and animal forms was exceedingly realistic in nature, and the modelling of animal figures in terracotta art was done with exceptional care.
• The towns of Harappa in the north and Mohenjodaro in the south, which are both part of the Indus Valley Civilisation, represent one of the first examples of urban design.
• Houses, marketplaces, storage facilities, offices, public baths, and other landmarks were set in a grid-like layout.
• A sophisticated drainage system was also included.
• While Harappa and Mohenjodaro are in Pakistan, major Indian archaeological sites include Lothal and Dholavira in Gujarat, Rakhigarhi in Haryana, Ropar in Punjab, Kalibangan in Rajasthan, and others.

Stone Statues

• Statues in stone, copper, or terracotta discovered at Harappan sites are few yet polished.
• The stone statues discovered at Harappa and Mohenjodaro are superb instances of three-dimensional volume management.
• Two masculine sculptures in stone are extensively discussed: one is a torso in red sandstone and the other is a bust of a bearded man in soapstone.
• The bearded guy, regarded as a priest, is draped in a shawl that comes under his right arm and covers his left shoulder.
• This shawl has trefoil motifs. The eyes are somewhat extended and half-closed, as in meditation. The nose is modest in size and beautifully shaped.
• The mouth is ordinary in size, with a close-cut moustache, a short beard, and whiskers; the ears seem like double shells with a hole in the centre.
• A basic woven fillet is wrapped around the head, and the hair is separated in the centre.
• On the right hand, an armlet is worn, and holes around the neck represent a necklace.

Bearded priest,*Source: 11th Fine Arts NCERT

Bronze Casting

• The Harappans mastered the skill of bronze casting on a large scale. Their bronze statues were created using the 'lost wax' process, which involved covering the wax figurines with clay and allowing them to cure.
• The wax was then heated, and the molten wax was drained through a small hole in the clay cap.
• The hollow mould so formed was filled with molten metal, which assumed the shape of the original artefact.
• The clay layer was totally removed when the metal had cooled.
• Human and animal figures may be found in bronze, with the greatest example of the former being the 'Dancing Girl' statue.
• The copper dog and bird of Lothal, as well as the bronze bull figure from Kalibangan, are not inferior to the copper and bronze human figures from Harappa and Mohenjodaro.
• Metalcasting looks to be a never-ending tradition.
• Metal-cast sculptures may be found in late Harappan and Chalcolithic sites such as Daimabad in Maharashtra.
• They are mostly made up of human and animal figures.

Terracotta

• The Indus Valley inhabitants also created terracotta figures, although in comparison to stone and bronze statues, the terracotta renderings of human form in the Indus Valley are primitive.
• In Gujarat and Kalibangan, they are more realistic. The mother goddess figurines are the most significant of the Indus figures.
• There are also a few clay sculptures of bearded guys with coiled hair, their stance rigidly erect, legs slightly apart, and arms parallel to the sides of the torso.
• The repeated appearance of this person in the same spot would imply that he was a divinity.
• A clay mask depicting a horned god was also discovered.
• Terracotta carts with wheels, whistles, rattles, birds and animals, gamesmen, and discs were also created.

Terracotta Figure, *Source: 11th Fine Arts NCERT

Beads and Ornaments

• 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.
• While both sexes wore necklaces, fillets, armlets, and finger rings, women wore girdles, earrings, and anklets.
• Necklaces of gold and semi-precious stones, copper bracelets and beads, gold earrings and head decorations, faience pendants and buttons, and steatite and gemstone beads were discovered in hoards at Mohenjodaro and Lothal.
• All of the decorations are well designed.
• It should be highlighted that a cemetery with dead people buried with jewellery has been discovered in Farmana, Haryana.
• As evidenced by the factories excavated at Chanhudaro and Lothal, the bead industry appears to have been substantially established.
• Carnelian, amethyst, jasper, crystal, quartz, steatite, turquoise, lapis lazuli, and other gemstones were used to make beads.
• Metals such as copper, bronze, and gold, as well as shell, faience, and terracotta or burned clay, were used to make beads.
• The beads come in a variety of forms, including disc-shaped, cylindrical, spherical, barrel-shaped, and segmented beads.
• Some beads were constructed from two or more stones glued together, while others were made from stone with gold covering.
• Some were incised or painted, while others had motifs etched into them.
• The manufacturing of these beads required a high level of technical competence.

Beads and Ornaments *11th Fine Arts NCERT

Pottery

• 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.
• The majority of Indus Valley pottery is manufactured on a wheel, with just a few exceptions being created by hand.
• Plain pottery outnumbers decorated ceramics. Plain pottery is usually made of red clay and finished with a fine red or grey slip.
• It contains knobbed pottery that is embellished with rows of knobs.
• The black painted ware features a delicate red slip covering with geometric and animal motifs in glossy black paint.
• Polychrome pottery is uncommon and consists mostly of tiny vases adorned with geometric designs in red, black, and green, with white and yellow thrown in for good measure.
• Incised pottery is also uncommon, and the incised decoration was limited to the pan bottoms, always inside, and the dishes of offering stands.
• Perforated pottery has a huge hole at the bottom and little holes all over the wall and was most likely used to strain drinks.
• Pottery for domestic usage comes in as many forms and sizes as may be imagined for everyday practical use.
• Straight and angular forms are rare, with elegant curves being the norm.
• Miniature vessels, most of which are less than half an inch tall, are particularly exquisitely crafted.

Pottery *11th Fine Arts NCERT

Seals

• Archaeologists have uncovered hundreds of seals, predominantly made of steatite but also of agate, chert, copper, faience, and terracotta, with stunning animal forms such as unicorns, bulls, rhinoceros, tigers, elephants, bison, goats, and buffalos.
• The realism of these creatures in varied moods is astounding.
• The primary goal of creating seals was business.
• The seals appear to have been employed as amulets, carried on the persons of their owners, maybe like modern-day identity cards.
• The traditional Harappan seal was a 22 square inch square plaque composed of steatite.
• Every seal is etched in an unintelligible pictographic script. Seals have also been discovered in ivory.
• They all have a wide range of themes, the most common of which are animals, such as the bull, with or without the hump, the elephant, tiger, goat, and monsters.
• Copper tablets featuring an animal or human image on one side and an inscription on the other, or an inscription on both sides, have also been discovered.
• A burin is used to delicately carve the images and signs. These copper tablets appear to have functioned as amulets.
• In contrast to writings on seals, which vary from case to case, inscriptions on copper tablets appear to be related with the animals shown on them.

Unicorn Seal *11th Fine Arts NCERT

Significance of Indus valley art

• Art and craft were key industries in the Indus Valley civilisation, as evidenced by the presence of specialised groups of artists such as bronze smiths, gold smiths, brick builders, stone cutters, weavers, and so on.
• Gold objects are rather prevalent.
• Metal casting, stone carving, creating and painting pottery, and producing terracotta pictures utilising simple patterns of animals, plants, and birds were all skills that the artists and artisans of the Indus Valley possessed.
• According to archaeological findings, the inhabitants of the Indus Valley were fashion aware.
• Different haircuts were trendy, and everyone was sporting a beard.
• Cinnabar was used as a cosmetic, and they were also familiar with face paint, lipstick, and collyrium (eyeliner).
• Many stone structure remnants have also been discovered at Dholavira, demonstrating how the Indus Valley inhabitants employed stone in building.

Conclusion

The arts of the Indus Valley civilization, one of the world's earliest, evolved throughout the course of the second millennium. Sculptures, seals, pottery, gold jewellery, terracotta figures, and other pieces of art have been discovered at several civilisation sites. The artists and artisans of the Indus Valley were exceptionally accomplished in a range of crafts, including metal casting, stone carving, producing and painting ceramics, and creating terracotta pictures with simple patterns of animals, plants, and birds, which contributed to the civilization's wealth.