RM Final Assignment Print Out

STUDY AND REVIEW OF HARAPPAN GALLERY:
TRACING THE HARAPPAN ART TRADITION

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
DR. CHOODAMANI NANDAGOPALA

DR. MITA BOSE
NATIONAL MUSEUM INSTITUTE
9TH DECEMBER. 2019
TABLE OF CONTENTS
 INTRODUCTION TO HARAPPAN CIVILIZATION

 SCOPE OF RESEARCH
 OBJECTIVE OF RESEARCH
 INTRODUCTION TO GALLERY
 ART CATEGORIES
o GLYPTIC ART
o CERAMIC ART
o JEWELLERY
o LAPIDARY
o SCULPTURES
 FAIENCE ART IN INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION: PATTERNS AND
PERSPECTIVES
 LITERATURE SURVEY
 VISUAL ANALYSIS
 LIMITATIONS OF RESEARCH
 FINDINGS AND SUGGESTIONS
 CONCLUSION
WORK DISTRIBUTION
ROLL NO. 19H/15 – 19H/27
SR. NO NAME AREA OF STUDY
1 HARSHADA MANE INTRODUCTION TO HARAPPAN

CIVILIZATION
SCOPE OF RESEARCH
2 SUKANYA KADYAN OBJECTIVE OF RESEARCH
3 KRITIKA JOSHI INTRODUCTION TO GALLERY
ART CATERGORIES
4 MEHAK SEJWAL GLYPTIC ART
5 TANISHA VIJAYRAN CERAMIC ART
6 DURGESH KUMAR JEWELLERY
7 ARTI PAL LAPIDARY ART
8 RAJESH KUMAR SCULPTURES
9 SHARANYA SAHAY FAIENCE ART IN INDUS VALLEY

CIVILIZATION: PATTERNS ANS
PERSPECTIVES
9 SUKANYA KADYAN LITERATURE SURVEY

SAOM M. MALOMMU
9 RANI BALA BAJORIA VISUAL ANALYSIS
10 ASHUTOSH LIMITATIONS OF RESEARCH
11 NARENDRA FINDINGS AND SUGGESTIONS
12 SAOM M. MALOMMU CONCLUSION
ASSIGNMENT COMPILATION: HARSHADA MANE

PPT COMPILATION: MEHAK SEJWAL
TEAM CO-ORDINATION: SUKANYA KADYAN
INTRODUCTION TO HARAPPAN CIVILIZATION
Around 4 thousand years ago, 4 major civilizations flourished along river valleys in different
parts of the world, river Nile in Egypt, Indus in Indian Sub-continent, Tigris-Euphrates in
Mesopotamia and Yellow and Yangtze rivers in China. Indus culture was one of the largest
and most urbanised among them, it reached its peak between 2500-1900 BC. During this
flourishing period, it was spread over an area of more than 1 million square kilometres along
and around river bed of Indus. The civilization was first identified in 1921 at Harappa in the
Punjab region by Sir John Huber Marshall and then in 1922 at Mohenjo-Daro, near the Indus
River in the Sindh region. Inhabitants developed new techniques in handicraft, Carnelian
products, seal and sealings, metallurgy with copper, bronze, lead, and tin.
Archaeological findings and written evidences are two important sources of information
when it comes to research of civilizations belonging to ancient period. Based on information
through research and archaeological findings, we have an entire gallery in the museum
curated about Harappan Civilization including exhibits like seals, terracotta, sculptures,
lapidary, skeletal remains and so on. The Indus script, burial practices and art are most
intriguing research areas besides other features like administration, social life, city planning,
architecture and seal and sealings of this period.
Since, the later excavations reveal that the settlements were not just concentrated along the
Indus Valley, hence, the term Indus Valley Civilization isn’t considered appropriate by most
of the scholars. the expanse of civilization had spread far and wide in order to include parts of
western Europe, Iran, Indian western coast, Gulf of Cambay, Ganga-Yamuna Doab and
foothills of Himalaya. The city of Harappa, which was first excavated has been decided upon
as the alternate name of this civilization. However, this name also has its limitations given the
number of sites excavated later on, approximately, over one hundred and fifty.
Although extensive research has been carried out about the civilization, many questions still
remain unanswered, as to the decline of the civilizations, the style of clothing of the people,
the language of this culture, which is unknown because the script remains undeciphered, the
religious/spiritual beliefs of this culture, pattern of life that they lead. Most of the research
that has been done in this area is based upon comparative analysis with the contemporaneous
civilizations of Harappa and the archaeological findings, mainly the pottery.
Over a thousand and five hundred sites of Indus valley have been excavated until present, of
which 475 sites are in Pakistan and 925 sites in India, while remaining are spread
out in Afghanistan, Iran and other parts. The uniformity of town planning across various
settlements of the civilization mark as one of the prominent features of this civilization. The
standard of architecture, water supply system, drainage system, sanitation facilities and city
infrastructure of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro, the two major towns of this civilization can be
highlighted as the identifying characteristics of the civilization as a whole.
Until scientific methods of dating that are implemented today, most of the research in this
area has been carried out based on comparative analysis with the contemporaneous cultures
and the archaeological finds, mainly potsherds. Thus, research has been unable to clearly
outline the chronological timeline of the civilization as a whole, also the mature phase and the
decline.
The architecture and town planning are highlighted as the most striking features of this
civilization. Most cities were laid out on rectilinear grid pattern, with streets oriented on
North-South and East-West axis. Population lived in small numbers spread across the area,
with high degree of city infrastructure and level of civilization. Houses varied in size and
plans, but the doorways always opened to smaller lanes and never to the main streets. In
addition to private dwellings, shops and other public structures like the citadel, granaries,
bath tank and so on have been identified as a part of the city infrastructure.
Besides, the pottery, seals and terracotta sculptures, a number of metal and stone sculptures
have also been excavated from sites belonging to this culture. The findings cannot be termed
as fully representative of the artistic traditions. Many of the sculptures found are small in
size, the largest one being about 40 centimetres high. The purpose and stylistic origin of these
artefacts remain unknown. In general, they would not reflect the beginning and rather the
mature phase of the tradition.
One cannot say for certain for certain what attributed to the decline of this civilization.
However, towards the declining phase, the inhabitants started to move away from the centre.
The pottery findings in the areas near the Ganga-Yamuna Doab reveal degeneration of the
level of artistic tradition and make. Certain reasons like deforestation resulted in the
unhabitable land causing inhabitants to migrate to other parts, natural process of cultural
evolution, Climatic changes like flooding, et cetera are some of the speculations made by the
researchers. Archaeological evidences however reveal that towards the decline of the
civilization, the last generations suffered because of frequent flooding. Some sired have been
suddenly abandoned with no pattern of decline of culture leading towards the final end.
Image: Sites of Indus Valley Civilization
Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica
SCOPE OF RESEARCH
Written evidences like scripts, manuscripts, coins et cetera play a crucial role as evidences of
civilizations now in ruins. However, given than Indus Valley script is not yet deciphered, it
develops a great scope for research.
Although substantial amount of excavations have been carried out, there still lay many a sites
underneath living settlements of present.
In spite of the advancement of research in this area, there still remains a speculation about the
factors that caused decline of the civilization.
There is still plenty scope for research on burial practices and anthropological data in order
for it represent the entire civilization and not just one community.
OBJECTIVE OF RESEARCH
Objective of the research is to expand our knowledge about the Harappan gallery through
studying and reviewing the gallery as well as the collections that it exhibits . The focus is on
the art aesthetics and how the gallery conveys it through its unique collection . There is a
cultural disconnect with our roots , this gallery can help eliminate that gap and introduce
audiences to our legacy. The objective is also to research ,investigate , explore and study
whether this gallery of National museum is presenting the best of it’s collection and
providing the learning platform to public.
INTRODUCTION TO THE GALLERY
The richest collections of one of the oldest civilization is displayed in one of the galleries of
national museum. The gallery is known as harappan gallery. There is no curator of the gallery
right now but an assistant curator, Miss Momita Dhar. Harappan gallery is the first gallery on
the ground floor of the national museum. The harappan gallery was set up by the
archaeological survey of India and the national museum. This gallery represents the ancient
culture of Indus valley civilization which is also known as Indus-saraswati civilization. The
gallery takes us to the glimpses of one of the oldest civilizations in the world. The collections
of this gallery were found from the excavations made during early 20th century. This
civilization is also known as bronze age civilization and many artefacts of this gallery are
made of copper based alloy.
So, the gallery introduces the artistic collections of the gallery to the viewer. One can see the
finest works here which shows a very different, advanced and creative perspective of Indus
people. Most of the artefacts of this gallery come from different important centers of
harappan civilization like dholavira, kalibangan, mohenjo daro, lothal and rakhigarhi.The
collection consists seals, terracotta figurines, tools made of bronze, jewellery made of semi
precious stones, polished stone, pillars, weights, pottery, various sculptures of goddess, a
skeletal of a lady and many more.
Gallery has some pictures of the sites
itself and a painting which represents
the life of people at that time
(assumed one). We can see an
interesting board inside the gallery on
one of the walls. The board represents
some script which is not deciphered
yet. It is said that script could be a
collection of symbols or writing
script.
There are about 3800 artefacts which have been

displayed in the gallery. There are audio visual
aid in the gallery which creates more interest
among the visitors.
However some issues like lack of maintenance,

lack of proper lighting, average display, lack of creativity in the interior plan of the gallery
makes it dull.
Due to this unpleasant feature and lack of maintenance, the artefacts of the gallery don’t
receive much attention, that’s why collections of one of the oldest civilization in the world
having creative essence has to be embraced.
ART CATEGORIES
GLYPTIC ART
In 1872, Alexander Cunningham, while excavating an area in northern India, came across a
small, one inch by one inch square piece of smooth, black, unpolished stone engraved with
strange symbols — lines, interlocking ovals, something resembling a fish — and what looked
like a bull etched underneath. The general assumed that the artifact wasn’t Indian at all but
some misplaced foreign token. In the 1920s many more of these artifacts, by then known as
seals, were found and identified as evidence of the culture now known as the Indus Valley
Civilization. Since then, over 3,500 seals have been uncovered and most of them feature one
line of symbols at the top with a picture, usually, of an animal carved below.1
While the standard Harappan seal was square in shape with a 2X2 inch dimension made of
steatite some unusual shapes like a cylinder, crescent, button, cube, hexagon, round,
rhomboid, triangle, prism, tetrahedron, lanceolate, heart shaped, shield leaf, fish-shaped, and
spherical shaped.2 have been found that were made of terracotta, gold, agate, chert, ivory and
faience.3
The motifs that are present include animals like bulls, rhinoceros, elephants , unicorns, tigers,
bisons, goats, mythical animals like unicorns, an elephant-bull-tiger,4 anthropomorphic
deities like the Pasupati and other mythological figures like five heads of unicorns around a
ring and so on.5 Sometimes on the back of a seal is a projection, probably to hold while
pressing the seal into other materials such as clay.6
A block of the desired material was first sawn to the required size and shape with a saw of
thin blade the material for which depended on the material of the seal. Engavers of chert,
ivory and bone were used in the soft materials like steatite, fiancé and terracotta. While for
harder materials like agate and shell, chisels of copper and bronze were used. The engravers
of bone, shell and ivory from lothal have a lunate-like or cresent shape with one or both
margins polished for convenient handling. Even parallel-sided chert blades with sharp point
and blunted or polished margin were used for engraving. The curvature of the engravers
facilitated smooth movement of the tool and application of greater pressure at its end. After
this a rough square boss was produced on the reverse by cutting out unnecessary portion of
the block. Before rounding and perforating the boss on the reverse, the cutting of the motif
1 https://www.theverge.com/2017/1/25/14371450/indus-valley-civilization-ancient-seals-symbols-language-algorithms-ai
2 Harappan seals, sealings and copper tablets,2000,Published by national museum, janpath, new delhi,Printed by veerendra printers, 2216, hardhian singh road,karol bagh
Page 19
3 https://byjus.com/free-ias-prep/seals-harappan-civilization/
4 Choodamani nandagopal, arts and crafts of Indus civilization, Aryan books international, 2006, Page 68
6 http://www.teachinghistory100.org/objects/about_the_object/indus_valley_seals
and engraving the inscription on the obverse was done after smoothening the surface with an
abrasive. In a few cases the motif was added later .7
After the engravings were done the seals were painted with an alkali before heating. The
application of more than one coat of alkaline liquid and overlapping marks of brush are
visible in a few seals. Normally, an alkaline coating consisting of silica, oxides of aluminium,
lime and magnesia was given to steatite seals of greenish or grey colour. After applying the
coating the seal was baked to obtain a white surface but the core remained grey or green. 8
These seals were used to make a sealing, or positive imprint.9
It is believed that the seals were used for commercial purposes. A few seals were also carried
as amulets, perhaps as a kind of identity card. Chiefly, the animals represented are tigers,
elephants, bulls, bisons, goats and so on. Some seals have mathematical images and must
have been used for educational purposes.10
Numerous Indus seals have been found in ancient Mesopotamian cities suggesting trade with
Mesopotamians. The letters above may designate someone's name or class. The final
pictograph is related to a possible class of three common endings. They feature the sign of
someone carrying goods, possibly indicating a trading group or caste.11
The commercial use of the seals was confirmed at lothal from the impressions of sealings
bearing impressions of the seal on the obverse and impressions of twisted cords tied into
knots of packing materials such as reed, cloth and loosely woven fiber on the reverse as they
were burnt probably with the cargo that was kept sealed in a warehouse. Yet, the mythical
animal and other motifs suggest a religious context12
Archaeologists have found rooms with hundreds of clay sealings all stacked and ready for
counting. Further, the Indus seals don't show a lot of use-wear, compared to Mesopotamian
versions. That may mean that it wasn't the seal's impression in clay that was important, but
rather the seal itself that was meaningful. So if the seals weren't necessarily stamps, then they
don't necessarily have to include information about the contents of a jar or package being sent
to a faraway land. 13
Some examples of the seals present at the national museum include-
The Pashupati or The Proto-Shiva seal – Made of Steatite. The seal represents a god sitting
in yogic posture with heels touching and facing each other. He has three faces and is
surrounded by animals and a man. Crowning head has two horns. His hands, fully covered
with bangles, are stretched and resting o the knees. On top there is an inscription. Shiva in
indian literature is called pashupati or the lord of animals and is also
9 https://www.harappa.com/seal/7.html
10 https://byjus.com/free-ias-prep/seals-harappan-civilization/
11 https://www.harappa.com/seal/7.html
12 Choodamani nandagopal, arts and crafts of indus civilization, Aryan books international, 2006, Page 65
13 https://www.thoughtco.com/seals-and-the-indus-civilization-script-171330
assigned the role of an ascetic, mahayogi, sitting cross-legged in profound meditation. This
representation maybe the forerunner of later shiva. 14
A pipal tree and unicorn heads – A square steatite seal from mohenjodaro shows ‘pipal’
flanked by curving and serrated necks of two unicorns, which emerge from a petalled boss
affixed to the centerof the trunk. Lower portion is inscribed. Depiction of tree is schematic
and leaves are carved artistically. The entire upper part is shown with stems and leaves. Pipal
tree is sacred.Seal showing a man between two tigers.15 The composition is very artistic with
spreading of leaves and the curved form of unicorn. 16
The Seal Of Gilgamish – found at Mohenjodaro, male figure standing between two standing
and roaring tigers. On top there is an inscription. Deity identified as proto-shiva, or gilgamish
who was a hunter hero.17
Humped bull – the Humped bull standing in profile.heavy body with prominent dewlap and
long horns are commonly found while the hump of this bovine animal is much smaller in
size. It is the second most freaquently appearing animal on the seals. Artists gave full
attention to the presentation of this animal as appears from its modeling which is powerful
and naturalistic. 18
Understanding what the seals are would have probably been easier if we knew what the
script, usually present on the top of the seals meant. The script which has not been deciphered
yet is “often called the most deciphered script because there are around 100 decipherments” 19
So they are generally thought to form the script of the Indus Valley language. Around 400
different symbols have been catalogued, but the script has still not been “deciphered” in a
way that is accepted by a majority of scholars.20
About 6,000 representations of glyph strings have been discovered at Indus sites from
different sources but the decipherment is very difficult due to certain reasons. Firstly, the
texts are really short with the average artifact consisting of five symbols. Followed by the fact
that we do not know what the underlying language is. We don’t even know the language
family that was spoken by people in the region at that time since once the civilization ended,
the system of writing probably ended too. We do not even know whether the symbols that are
present actually stand for a language. Given the amount of data we have, we cannot make any
firm statement regarding the content of the script. Other than that modern-day politics where
different factions are fighting over whose language and culture descend from the civilization
to be called the inheritors of India also poses a problem.21
14 Harappan seals,sealings and copper tablets,2000,Published by national museum,janpath,new delhi,Printed by veerendra printers, 2216, hardhian singh road,karol bagh
Page 20
15 Harappan seals,sealings and copper tablets,2000,Published by national museum,janpath,new delhi,Printed by veerendra printers, 2216, hardhian singh road,karol bagh
Page 23
16 Choodamani nandagopal, arts and crafts of indus civilization, Aryan books international, 2006, Page 67
17 Harappan seals, sealings and copper tablets,2000,Published by national museum, janpath,new delhi,Printed by veerendra printers,2216,hardhian singh road,karol bagh
Page 23
18 Harappan seals,sealings and copper tablets,2000,Published by national museum,janpath,new delhi,Printed by veerendra printers,2216, hardhian singh road, karol bagh
Page 26
20 http://www.teachinghistory100.org/objects/about_the_object/indus_valley_seals
There has been a debate about what the script represents, do they represent the letters of an
ancient language? Are they just religious, familial, or political symbols? While Steve Farmer,
Richard Sproat, and Michael Witzel claim that the Indus script was not a language. While
people like Rajesh P.N. Rao and colleagues provide evidence that the glyphs really do
represent a language. 22
A possible breakthrough can come possibly from the study of the copper plates that are very
similar to the seals and are present in the gallery. We have found over 200 small copper tablets or
wafers that also bear image and script but on opposing surfaces. As many of these tablets occur in
multiple copies, it is believed that these might as well be tokens of some sort. Many of the tablets
occur as duplicates, where the image and relevant script are consistent from copy to copy. In one
rectangular design featuring a bull, 28 copies are known.23 Scholars generally accept that the script
and images on seals are not related, but the copper plates are quite different and were
possibly meant to produce instructive images.24 Because when compared to other artifacts
like clay seals of the Indus Valley era, these copper plates had the images and scripts that
were very similar to them. In fact, scholars generally accept that the script and images on
seals are not related, but those on the copper plates follow a different pattern, and these were
possibly meant to produce instructive images unlike the seals which probably mentioned the
name of the trader.25
For most of the plates, the characters, while sometimes crudely inscribed or corroded, are identifiable,
although many appear to be variants, which may indicate a regional origin. Asymmetric characters are
present on most of the plates, and are mirrored, which reinforces the argument that the plates were
intended to transfer their image to another surface According to preliminary analyses of the texts on
the copper plates, there is little similarity in character pairs to that found on seals, which suggests that
the texts on the plates are quite different.26
Dr. Rick Willis’ set of nine copper plates specially plays an important role in the understanding the
copper plates. The text on one of the copper plates (Plate 1) that he possesses has 34 characters in five
lines, and thus has more characters and more lines of Indus inscription than any previously known on
a single object, which suggests that the text may be descriptive or instructive, and that this object has a
special purpose. In fact, The copper plates do not seem to bear many character sequences that closely
resemble those found on seals. As the copper plates do not seem to be seals, this is not surprising,
since one would expect that the words and grammar used on seals would be quite different from the
text on the copper plates which may be descriptive or instructive.
27
The most unusual of the copper plates are Plates 1 and 2 which depict a figure or deity with a horned
head-dress. No seal is known that is overall comparable to Plate 1, which depicts a naked figure,
wearing a horned head-dress, seated in a yogic position, and bearing a star or gem symbol on his
chest, perhaps antecedent to the jewel Kaustubha worn by Vishnu. At the right of the figure is a small
plant. Seals with plants are very rare. only 12 seals are known showing a plant, which is usually the
22 https://www.thoughtco.com/seals-and-the-indus-civilization-script-171330
23 https://www.ancient-asia-journal.com/articles/10.5334/aa.12317/
24 http://www.ancientpages.com/2015/10/24/curious-ancient-copper-plates-and-the-mystery-of-indus-valley/
25 https://www.smh.com.au/education/a-step-toward-unraveling-the-mystery-of-indus-valley-script-and-printing-20141009-3hlw3.html
pipal or sacred fig (Ficus religiosa). The plant here is a herb with a taproot, long leaves and two
flowers. However, the pipal is a large tree with cordate mucronate leaves and relatively insignificant
cauliflorous flowers. Thus the plant depicted may be something like tulasi (Ocimum tenuiflorum), a
holy plant often associated with Vishnu, a poppy, or Indian
ginseng (Withania somnifera). At the left of the plate is a crudely depicted cult object, perhaps a
ceremonial vessel, or part thereof, that may be incomplete due to the size of the text. The seal
becomes more enigmatic as it bears an unusually lengthy inscription; however, it is unclear whether it
reads from right to left or is boustrophedonic.28
The occurrence of lengthy text on the plates perhaps provided detail or instructions for craftsmen. The
reversed script means that the plates were designed to leave an imprint: 1) either directly on clay,
which seems unlikely, or 2) or on a different medium through the transfer of pigment, i.e. printing.
The copper plates are unusually thick, and this is surprising as it is recognised that metal was a
precious and efficiently used commodity in the Indus Valley. One explanation of the robust nature of
the copper plates is that these plates were designed to take substantial pressure, as required in printing.
It is possible that the copper plates were created firstly to maintain a permanent record of the standard
designs on seals and tablets, and furthermore provide a cheap and portable means to distribute
standard designs to craftsmen that carved seals in the Indus Valley region. 29
Thus, the copper plates are highly significant for two principal reasons. Firstly, they bear
inscriptions in Indus script, a language that still remains essentially undeciphered, and one
plate, in particular, bears the longest known single inscription in Indus characters. It is
possible that unlike the text on the seals, the text on the copper plates relates directly to the
images, and may thus present a unique tool to progress the epigraphic analysis of Indus
script.30
Secondly, the fine and shallow engraving, the robust structure of the plates, the wear of the inscribed
metal surface, and the reversed characters, are all consistent with the copper plates having a function
for printing. Trials with simple ferric oxide and carbon black inks confirm that the plates can provide,
even after over 4000 years, quite satisfactory printed impressions on media including silk, as would
even been available four millennia ago. Thus it is suggested that these unique cooper plates are the
world’s earliest known printing plates, and moreover, would have provided the world’s earliest
printed works of art, which means they predate what is commonly thought of as the advent of
printing using Chinese woodblocks developed around 600 to 700 BCE.31
However, it is also possible that the copper plates served as a library or set of templates for the
manufacture of steatite seals and related objects.32Out of the 5516 copper tablets, seals and sealings,
the National Museum houses 167 seals, sealings and some 35 copper tablets along with 55 seals that it
has loaned from the A.S.I.33 which is a massasive amount and even though it is not enough for
research work, the collection and display is big enough to attract someone who has even a
little interest in the civilization.
33 Harappan seals, sealings and copper tablets,2000,Published by national museum,janpath, new delhi,Printed by veerendra printers,2216,hardhian singh road,karol bagh
Page 19
CERAMICS
Ceramic or Pottery refer to the construction of objects that are made up of hard brittle
material produced from non - metallic mineral is wet and then firing them at high
temperatures. They are made up of clay,porcelain,steatite etc.
Pottery plays an crucial role in studying culture and reconstructing the past. The study of
pottery change with distinct culture historically.It throwback the social,economic,
environmental conditions a culture bloom in,which help in understanding the past to
historians and archaeologists. It holds noteworthy value in understanding the Harappan
Civilization and culture where script was remain undiscovered or undeciphered.
The one of the important known feature of the civilization is it uniformity in the history of
Indian pottery begin with the Harappan Civilization. Harappan people used different type of
pottery such as glazed,polychrome,incised, perforated and knobbed. They used pottery for
decoration purpose in several methods .There is a evidence of pottery begin constructed in
two ways ,handmade and wheel- made pottery or wheel thrown. It includes both plain and
painted chiefly of wheel-made wares. Harappan and mohenjo-daro culture indicate the age of
wheel made pottery. Harappan pottery is uniformly well-made, well baked and bright or dark
in colour .The plain pottery generally of red clay with or without a fine red slip is more
common than the painted ware.The painted pottery is commonly of red and black colours.
Material culture but there are regional variation in plants as well as pottery tradition.
OBJECTIVE:
As we all know, the Harappan culture developed in Indo- Pak subcontinental from the
starting of third millennium BCE to the mid 2nd millennium BCE. The painted design
observed on the well baked red ware of this culture has undergone many changes starting
from the early Harappan phases to the end of this culture called as late harappa.Some of
painted design which were noticed in the beginning underwent changes and even died out and
at the same time new design, pattern started emerging. This was not limited to an particular
painted motif but changes in the motifs as well as stylization was a continuous process. This
research study obtained detail understanding about a making of pottery, categorisation of
designs during Harappan civilization, it also apply revisiting the innovative practice of
Harappan time and culture by studying the available literature and like archaeological reports
and interpretational statement made by leading archaeologist for true idea on Indus pottery.
Visiting in pottery collections the actual scraps housed in National Museum is the original
experience to look at the painted pottery and to study symbol motifs,patterns painted on
different kind of pottery for daily use and admire the creative thought-process of Harappan
people.
As the framework of this research fundamental points, which has been taken into notice are
concerned, are as follows:-
1) Geographical regions
2) Natural features
3) Time period
4) Material
5) Shapes and forms
6) Colour and design
7) Rationale and classification
Study of pottery brings use knowledge of any culture and pottery is reviewed as most
important finding of every Civilization around the world because pottery is the ancient thing
which is used by human kind which ongoing till contemporary society. The study of
Harappan culture has been divided in two phases by renowned scholars and researchers. The
first face was pre-independence start with excavation at Harappan by D.R. SAHNI and at
mohenjo-daro started by R.D .Banerjee in 1920-21: have it origin in 1924 this civilization
was recognised as bronze age same as to those of Mesopotamia and Egypt.
The second phase started with the publication of Sir Mortimer Wheeler's excavation report
1947. The third phase (1964-84) began with Aryan invasion theory by G.F.Dales,
D.P.Agarwal's analysis of radiocarbon date and the work by A.Ghosh on ghaggra system of
Rajasthan in 1965.A significant number of research paper, books and other literature have
been published on this subject with actual facts and research analysis, which are significant
source of knowledge and information to support the study. The motive of this study goes
round the development, evolution and changes in painted pottery design during Harappan era,
classification of designs and it growth, maturity and decline.
-GEOGRAPHICAL REGIONS:Baluchistan, non-baluchi area outside the Indus plain and the
Indus Hakra plain.
-NATURAL FEATURES:climate and flora and fauna depends on rainfall and soil.
-TIME PERIOD:time period of the study is 3rd and 2nd millennium BCE which include pre-
approval Harappan culture, Harappan culture and late Harappan culture.
-MATERIAL:designs, geometrical patterns and motifs found on pottery, available ceramic
both from habitational and burial areas.
-SHAPE and FORM:the Harappan pottery is characterized by a well burnt black painted red
ware with different shapes in pottery found in Indus valley culture gives a great source to
knowledge the creative side of harappans lifestyle.Pottery were used for distinctive purposes
are available here to study such a such as drinking vessel, vase, flasks, narrow necked vessel,
storage jars,offering stand, a dish, a dish on stand, bowl, handi,cup and and cup on stand,
basin,a ring stand, casket, feeder ,lid and lamp, perforated pottery.
-COLOR and DESIGN:painted pottery from Indus valley region composed a very small
amount of the total ceramic. But most of the potteries found are plain and unpainted, though
some polished and unpolished type pottery also existed. But the available evidence and proof
of painted pottery is not too less and deserves great importance to understand the artistic
value in daily life of that period.
Pottery throughout the civilisation was same which shows some form of control over the
pottery.
-RATIONALE and CLASSIFICATION:study of the motive and classification of painted
design like different type of motifs, symbols and patterns. The common motifs on the pots are
intersecting circles, leaf patterns, fish scale patterns, human and animal figurines.
The excavation history in details in different site in Indian subcontinent, Pakistan and other
adjacent areas as well as in Iran, Iraq and Persian gulf. As this Civilization had spreaded very
wide, sites have been divided into three groups nucleus cities means the cores sities like
Harappan ,Mohenjo-daro, Kalibangan,Baro,Bhirann, Dholavira, Rangpur.Coastal cities,
which are situated in coastal plains like Lothal, Allahdino, Dholavira, Rangpur. Other sites
which are excavated time to time in various places of India like kot -diji, Rakhigarhi,
Chanudaro, Sanauli, Banawali etc.
About the shape of pottery that narrates vessel body part and type of pottery like jars, pots,
dishes, bowls, base,rim,scored pottery, offering stand,ribbed pottery, vases, feeder, beakers,
basin, cup, cup on stand, ring stand, casket, lid.The art of pottery had arrived it's peak and
when wheel made pottery started. Pottery was uniform in shape. The Indus potters was
experience craftman and produced plane, coloured and glazed pottery. The Indus pottery was
known for its shape, rich.
We also explain the details of surface treatment designs ,Colours and perfect finish. Pottery
of these Ravi phase- firstpart was hand built. The rough handmade pottery include bowls
jars,vessels-in different colour such as red, Orange, brown, black and cream. The real starting
of Indian pottery is with the Harappan Civilization. Almost all of the forms are finely made
shallow bowls ,deep bowls, narrow -mouthed carinated vessels, or thick walked cooking pots.
Colour treatment-it is well known that most of pottery found in Indus valley region is
unpainted, that is plane. The painted pottery constituted represent a very small percentage of
the total ceramic. The ceramic divided into:-
Light terracotta red, red, grey wares buff,black and red.
The prime section of research paper talks about designs, development of painted motifs in
different sites of Harappan Civilization. Focus on geometrical designs of pottery such as
straight lines, wavy lines, loops, circle pattern, semi circle, zigzag, square triangle, bead
and, sun motif; Floral designs peepal with bull, peepal with birds, peepal with horn,
peepal with Arch- motif, peepal with single leaf, peepal with rosette, peepal with lotus,
peepal with intersecting circle, geometric flower, Palm leaf, beans , sunflower, banana, neem,
acacia design, unidentified plant design and faunal design like animals in -friezes, natural
surroundings, association with the sun motif, animals in association with the comb motif.
"Painted Decoration",refers beautifying an object by put the paint on the surface of the object.
The expression of the Potter's aesthetics and sensibilities, as also a reflection of the natural
surroundings. The artistic taste quality of painted pot is apparently related to the artist beauty
of the patterns executed.The design patterns consists of motifs and elements has been divided
by scholars as geometric, non -geometric, human, Floral motif etc and all these designs have
meaning. The presence and absence of some motifs, its frequency, or continuity and change
over time can be used to produce typological history and chronology.
Now let's talk about some selected designs and some other design such as rising sun,
star,swastika, comb design. These designs are important to us because they hold a significant
place in the history and its need analytical and briefly study.
In mature Harappan period they used pottery for ritualistic activities. The Harappan people
believe in life after death so they buried a pots full of grain with the burial that is known as
burial pottery of Harappan. And they were made width distinctive style and patterns,
burnished paintery pottery. Presence or absence of this pottery in the grave goods reflected
social stratification. But, late Harappan people used the ochre coloured potter(OCP),black-
grey burnished ware, Black on red, grey ware and painted grey ware.
CONCLUSION:
The Harappan Civilization acquire a huge area in the subcontinent is one of the largest
urbanized civilizations of the ancient world. The total region which cover more than a million
square kilometre. More than 1024 of Harappan sites have been excavated and discovered. In
this period,pottery were polished ware pottery with rough surface and fire burned;both
polished and unpolished pottery presented. The few pottery types and patterns included
flanged jars and tall offering stands of mature Harappan types were also had been used by the
people. Although, the mature period brought some important changes in total scenario. The
famous category of structure shows the social differentiation came into being in this phase.
The field works in this period unearthed the true character of this civilization.It was observed
that there are certain uniformity in all the mature Harappan sites with some regional variation
but general features are same.The Harappan pottery is commonly labelled as black on red
ware. This term is unsuitable because the collection of pottery included the four varieties
such as red ware, buff ware, grey ware and the black and red ware.The study share out the
various motifs used on painted pottery. The evolution of each motif, its development over
scope and time and also inter- relationship of motifd with different cultures,has been
explained. Excavation provide a sufficient proof to reveal that the earliest occurrence of these
motifs is in Mesopotamian culture. Each and every motif had a strong behind it and which is
directly related to the beliefs and practices of the people. The early design shows more
maturity towards style in later period and some of the design continued even at late stage and
even today.
JEWELLERY
Since ancient times, there is a tradition among women to decorate their bodies with
auspiciousness. Women of all sections of the society wear different types of jewellery to
enhance their beauty according to their social status. A woman's jewellery is often a sign of
her social status, interest and economic status. From the sight of Indus Valley civilization
Harappa, Mohenjodaro, chahnudarho etc. The sculptures which have been received from the
sites are fully adorned with ornaments. The only nose jewelry in these women is not founded.
In Harappa or Mohenjo-Daro people were very entertainment types of person because they
had very important jewellery both women and men were fond of grooming.
The craftsmen in the cities of this period worked with gold, ,silver ,copper ,bronze ,shell
,paste ,ivory, faience and clay to produce all kinds of ornaments .The made beads out of semi
precious stone, shell, ivory and clay .They used gold and silver to make bracelet ,Bangle
necklaces from kunal, Nindowari and Nagawada and these have been ascribed to circa 3000-
2800 BCE (early harappan period).The gold jewellery or Mature Harappan period was
reported from Mandi ,Mohanjodaro, Nindowari, Sonouli ,Allahodino ,Rakhigarhi ,Lothal
,Quetta ,Dholavira and Harappan.The six diagnostic found from Harappan and Mohenjodaro
are important in metal costumes. A collection of Harappa and around 500 pieces of necklace
etc .Their decorations do not human or animal shaped medals or bead many type of gold
,silver and jewels and gems. Beaded and ornamental leaflets are made of round and square
medals in special jewels of women and men. Ray sheet or steel Kulfinuma jewellery. In both
Mohenjodaro and Harappa , gold-plated spherical ornaments have been found on whose head
there is a loop that the clay toys indicate that they were worn behind the ears and can be
identified with the Vedic kurir.
VARIOUS ORNAMNETS
Some of the fingers have also been found
,which are of gold ,silver ,copper ,bronze and
earrings .There are also some samples of
earrings , perhaps they were not removed
from the ears of women at the time of death
,as is the practice till today there is no
specimen of nose nail bhogali or nath. Is not
because this jewel is not found anywhere
before the Muslim period in ancient times,
hand bracelets and hard gold were made of
Silver, Copper, and Nafis Kachha clay and
kachha clay material ornaments used by poor
untouchable women.
HAIR ORNAMNETS
Both men and women used to extend the hair
and tie it on the back side of the head .By the use
of thorns, bent mirror, Surmedani Salai etc. used
in the grouping of hair it is known that the
residents of the Indus were of beauty and
cosmetics.
TYPE OF JEWELLERY:
BRACELET:
I .V.Harappan, C.2600-1900BCE
Gold
The bracelets with twenty-seven hallow gold conical studs flared around the bottom and with
an indentation on top arranged in three rows. Tiny hooks are attached inside the pointed tips.
The cones might have been attached to a garment or been elements of a girdle.
Bracelet Section
I.V Mohenjo-Daro, C.2600-1900BCE
GOLD
The section of a bracelet made of one hundred and forty eight gold beads arranged in a six
rows and interspersed with rectangular spacers after eight beads connecting the six rows. The
terminal of semi-circular form with four beads at the end.
BROOCH:
I.V Harappa, C.2600-1900BCE
Gold, Steatite
The flat gold brooch formed from three thick gold wires laid on a sheet of silver and bent to
form concentric rows in the form of the figure ‘8’The two spaces in between the wires are
inlaid with tiny cylindrical steatite beads capped with gold at both ends.
EAR PLUG
I.V. MOHNEJO-DARO
GOLD
The gold ear plug of conical form flared at the base
and edged with a border simulating twisted wire. A
cylindrical tube in the middle of the cone was
perhaps for passing through the hole in the ear.
Gold, Agate, Turquoise, Faience
NECKLACE
The necklace of nine flat disc-shaped beads that were made by joining two circular pieces of
gold each grooved across that center which were aligned to make the hole for threading. The
gold beads are interspersed with cylindrical and round gold beads and small gold spacers and
a semi-circular bead at one end as a terminal .The gold bead are interspersed with turquoise
and agate beads and two turquoise beads and a faience bed with gold caps pendent.
I.V Harappan, C.2600-1900BCE
Gold
The necklace of two hundred and thirty nine gold arranged in four rows with four spacers-
two along the length of the necklace and at either end the form of the hallow semi circular
beads fashioned from sheet gold.
I.V Mohenjo-Daro, C.2600-2900BCE

Gold
The hallow gold tubular bangle is fashioned from a sheet of gold ,the ends folded to meet in
the middle and the ends meeting .The bangles is devoid of any decoration
FILLET:
The fillet of a plain flat sheet gold trip tapering at both ends and pierced. It was probably tied
around the forehead and secured at the back of the head by mean of the threads. The ‘V’
shaped filler if plain flat sheet gold tapering at both ends pierced and meeting in a ‘V’ in the
center and also pierced perhaps for the attachment of another ornament.
HEAD ORNAMENTS
I.V, Mohenjo-Daro, C.2600-2900BCE
Gold
The ornament in the form of a conical gold cap made out of beaten sheet gold with edges bent
out at right angles inside the cap a gold loop is a placed at the painted tip perhaps to fasten it
to something or to pass strand of hair and secure the jewel to the head.
CONCLUSION:
Looking at the number of ornaments received from Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro and their
popularity, it can be said that one of the features of this civilization was its ornaments which
are found with the female skeletons and apart from this the evidence which has been found in
the excavations also pointing to the sight of this civilization
LAPIDARY ART
In lapidary art we basically focus on beads origin,types,and techniques of making beads.the

study of bead manufacturing and changing styles of beaded ornaments is an important
method for investigating the social and economic development of a society. Numerous
studies have demonstrated that the careful documentation of beads from different periods and
areas of Harappa have made it possible to define specific trade networks and the organization
of production as well as changing patterns of interaction over the history of the site.
Origin and important sites:
The largest proportion of beads comes from the Harappa Phase (Period 3, 2600-1900 BC)
that has been excavated most extensively, but there are important collections from all of the
other periods as well.
SOME SITES OF BEADS EXCAVATIONS
 Mehrgarh,
 Ghazi shah,
 Amri and shahr and Sokhta
MATURE HARAPPAN SITES
 Chanhudaro
 Dholavira
 Mohenjodaro
 Rangpur
 Lothal
MATERIAL USED FOR BEADS MAKING:

The Harappans used varity of material for making
beads: stone,steatite, metal(gold, silver and copper) ,and
organic substances.
If one includes the large number of steatite micro –
beads, there are hundreds of thousands of beads in a
wide array of types and materials with its distinctive
manufacturing technology
Image Courtesy: National Museum, New Delhi

Technique used for making beads. It requires techniques of sawing,flaking,grinding, and
boring. Probably pressing paste through thin bronze tubes made fine steatite bead.
Alkali etching-
The Harappans etched beads by making pattern in
alkali paste and then heating the bead till alkali
was absorbed. In other type, the whole bead was
made white with alkali heating and then a black
design was painted, perhaps with copper nitrate
solution. The most spectacular harappan beads
were made of hard stones, generally of agate,
both banded and clear. Extension of bead trade in
neighbour civilization. Harappan craftsmen made
themselves expert in bead making technique and
they extended their bead making technique to
neighbor civilization. Varieties of stone beads
and precious beads like Carnelian discovered in
the excavation of neighbouring contemporary
civilization have proved the extent of Indus trade.
Shahdad,a site in Southern Iran,has yielded
Harappan related beads.
LOTHAL BEAD FACTORY
A bead factory with a working

platform in the open courtyard
surrounded by eleven rooms has been
laid bare in block E near the
Acropolis.Another important evidence
for suggesting that the mud-brick
structure with a working platform
surrounded by worker’s room was a
bead factory.
Image Courtesy: www.harappa.com
USES
In traditional communities, ornaments are not just fashion statement but are essential to the
proper functioning of the social group.Valuable metals and stones are generally fashioned
into ornaments that depicts important ritual or symbolic motifs.many scholars like Kenoyer
explains that these ornaments serve to protect the wearer,to identify the social and economic
status of the wearer and as a means of storing wealth. To make long necklaces,beads were
used with special gems that hung as pendants, at the centre of the necklace. This style of
ornament is depicted on many terracotta and bronze figurines.
CONCLUSION-
Modern bead making industry at present flourishing at Cambay.the art and craft of Lapidary
has long heritage in India. They serve as the parameter for the standardization in trade and
economy through extended contacts in neighboring civilizations. The colourful beads of
different sizes and shapes attract the modern people and also find a place of significance in
the trends of fashion.Dr. Choodamani’s words “as long as the natural instinct of adoration
stands beads survive”.
SCULPTURE
The art of Indus valley civilization was one of the earliest civilizations of the world which
was arisen at the time of second and half of the third millennium (Bronze Age).
This civilization includes sculptures, pottery, jewellery, seals, terracotta figures etc. In the art
form and their details of human an animal figures was highly natural and its figures
modelling was done very carefully. A huge amount of sculptures found in this civilization
animal’s figures are numerous but the human’s figures are very limited in numbers.
THEMES
In Harappa civilization we have found many kind of sculpture objects such as
 Animals figures (Bull, Dog, Horse, Goat, monkey, armadillo etc.)
 Birds figures (Duck, hen, peacock etc.)
 Human figures( man and woman )
 Human Mask figures
 Toys( Dices , maze, etc )
MATERIAL USED
The Harappan people generally used for making sculptures were stones like sand stone , lime
stone etc., metals generally used bronze for making sculptures and terracotta which is both
backed or unbaked .
Stone – stone statue found in Indus valley civilization sites are excellent examples of
handling the 3D volume. Mainly two major stones used for making sculptures sand stone and
lime stone.
Bronze – Bronze casting was found in wide scale in almost all major sites of the civilization.
The technique used for bronze casting was Lost Wax Technique. Mostly human an animal’s
figures examples are exist of bronze casting.
Terracotta- The terracotta figures had a universal popularity in the ancient world and
harappan culture was no exception to this. The terracotta figures of Indus valley were
modelled with great detail of eyes, hands and neck. Among the human figures the female
were more common the head dress in such figures is more elaborate. They are used both
backed and unbaked terracotta.
CATEGORIES
STONE SCULPTURE
Male Torso: It was found in Harappa. It is
made red sand stone, which has socket
holes in the neck an shoulders for the
attachment of head and arms. The frontal
posture of the torso has been consciously
adopted. The shoulders are well carved and
the abdomen looks slightly prominent. This
nude male torso is considered to be a
remarkable object that in its balanced lines
stands somewhat equal to the beautiful art
of gandhara two thousand years later.
BRONZE SCULPTURE
Bronze casting was practiced in wide scale in almost all major sites of the civilization .The
technique used for bronze casting was lost wax technique. Mostly human and animal figure
examples are exists of bronze casting.
Lost Wax Technique: Bronze casting was a widespread practice during the Indus valley
civilization, particularly at Harappa. Bronze statue were made by the “lost wax technique”.
This practice is still prevalent in many part of country. in each region , a slightly different
technique is used. Under this technique, the image is first modelled in bee wax with every
detail fashioned exactly. This figure is then covered with a coating of fine damp clay pressed
tight around it. Finally it becomes a large lump of clay with the wax figure in its core. Holes
or opening are left in this clay lump or mould which can later be used for pouring hot metal.
When this mould is dry, it is put in fire which melts the wax that runs out of the holes
provided. The impression of the wax figure remains within the mould, and the molten metal
is poured in it. When the metal hardens and the clay mould is broken open, the metal image is
revealed, reproduced exactly with all the detail of the original wax figure. it requires only a
little chiselling and polishing to give the final touches to the figure.
Dancing girl: This is one of the best known artefacts
from the Indus valley. It is a four inch high copper
figure, found in mohanjoaro. It depicts a girl whose
long hair is tied in a bun. Bangles cover her left arm,
a bracelet and an amulet or bangle adorn her right
arm,, an a cowry shell necklace is seen around her
neck.Her right hand is on her hip and her left hand is
clasped. She is resting her weight on one leg in a
very natural fashion, as in the contraposto technique
of later sculpture.
Bull: It is founded in mohanjoaro. The massiveness of the bull and the fury of the charge are
eloquently expressed. The figure is shown standing with his head turned to the right. There is
a cord around the neck.
TERRACOTTA SCULPTURE
The terracotta figurines had a universal popularity in the ancient world and harappan culture
was no exception to this. the terracotta figurines of Indus valley civilization were modelled
with great detail of eyes, hands and neck. Among the human figurines the female were more
common the head dress in such figurines is more elaborated. They are backed or unbaked
both of us.
There are plenty of terracotta seals and figurines recovered from toys to cult objects such as
mother goddess to birds and animals including monkeys,
Dogs, horse, bull, cattle etc.
The terracotta figures were divided into some parts that is mention below:
 Human figures ( male and female)
 Animal figures
 Birds figures
 Mask
 Toys
HUMAN FIGURES
Male Figure: Male figurines are found in large numbers from Harappa. The nude male
forms are mostly seated with arms either on or around the knees or jointed in front in
devotion and Yogic posture.
There are few standing nude male terracotta with pinched nose, either clean shave or bearded.
The appearance is crude and rough.
SEATED MALE IN NAMASKAR:

The head and folded hands are namaskar mudra.
 Yogic posture
 Some parts of foot missing
 The head, mouth and nose is pinched.
 Eyes are marked by round pellet.
 Fingers not shown in hands.
 Triangular forehead.
 This is the earliest evidence of yoga scene
in Indian art.
STANDING MAN WITH CONICAL TURBAN
 This figurines is sporting a turban like headdress

 Long hair falling
 Broad triangular chest
 Both hands were broken
Female Figure: female figurines are found in large no of mohan jo daro. Many of these
figuring represented mother goddess of fertility cult. These terracotta figure prove very
revealing as far as the physical characteristic, dress ornamentation an the work involvement
of Indus valley female were concerned.They are show going about with bare breast conical in
shape the hip are broad and waist slender. The upper part of the body is generally devoid of
any clothing but the lower part is covered with a garment resembling a mini skirt . a turban is
shown round the head n wear heavy jewellery.
SYMBOL: Fertility and prosperity
SHORT POTBELLY MOTHER GODDESS

 discovered in Mohan jo daro
 lower part , left leg and right arm are
missing
 hand modelled and red paint used
 elaborated jewellery wear
 The armlet and bracelet of spiral
design are also represent here.
 Her fan shaped headdress is broken
 Figure is nude and has pinched face.
POTBELLY FEMALE SUCKLING TWO BABIES
 This is moulded and wheel made figure with a

fine potbelly mother goddess.
 The jewellery of this fig was made by pinched
an appliqué method.
 She is adorned with fan like head dress
 Her upper necklace has five conical pendent.
 Two babies in each hand make the fig more
attractive, mouth is pinched.
ANIMAL FIGURE
The harappan collection of national museum, New Delhi has 130 such animal figurines.
These are classified in three categories.
 Realistic (Bull, Rhino, Horse, Monkey, Pig, Etc.)
 Mythical( double face lion, monkey type chimara)
 Conventional ( Bull with moveable head, climbing monkey)
The harappan animal terracotta fig is mostly handmade and very few are mould made. No
cow and domestic cat figure found here.
ANTEATER OR ARMADILLO
 This is unique handmade figurines of
an anteater, which is now rare.
 This is very fine representation of an
anteater on terracotta.
 The animal has been well studies an
scales are most expressively shown.
 Its heads, eyes, long tail and bony granulated skin are beautifully depicted.
 The portion of feet is missing
DOG
 This is a cream slip coated animal body.

 Two eyes of this animal were made by appliqué method.
 The figure has double collar holed claps on one side for attaching the belt.
 The lower part of the figure is missing.
BIRDS FIGURES
Bird terracotta figurines were reported in large numbers from various sites of the Harappa
civilization. The birds like hen, ducks, peacock etc were hand modelled with great care. Wigs
of these birds are shown in relief and feathers by incised lines.
BIRD IN CAGE
 A headless bird is seated on the outside of cage.
 The cage has longitudinal rectangular slits alternating with vertical slits.
 It has window on three sides.
 The bird shape like parrot
MAN HOLDING DUCK

This terracotta figurine of a man holding a struggling
duck firmly to his chest.
The nudity of the man, his missing legs, the pinched
pellets of his thin eyes all these do not distract the
viewer from the main focus, the struggle between man
and the duck.
CONCLUSION
The sculptures in Harrapan period mainly used for kids entertain purpose and ritual purpose
also. The people of Indus valley worshipped the mother goddess as the symbol of fertility and
prosperity. We have found the bull cart toy it shows that the Indus people had passenger’s
carts as well as carts for transporting goods.
FAIENCE ART IN INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION: PATTERNS ANS PERSPECTIVES
In the ancient world, the region around Egypt and Mesopotamia in the west and Indus Valley
in the east laid the foundation of the earliest civilizations. With this came a structured way of
living and the development of more complex social, economic, cultural, religious and
technological patterns. The development of trade and migration of the people furthered this
diffusion. The patterns of these societies can be studied in present times from the
archaeological finds from these sites. Art, therefore, becomes a very important medium.- not
just in understanding the past, but also placing ourselves in the context of history in relation
to why, where and most importantly, what we are in present times and how these have
impacted our lives. Faience, an important material used for making various arts in the Indus
Valley Civilization, thus has a crucial role to play- in getting a clearer insight of many facets
known, and that which are yet to be discovered. In context to the Indus valley, just as
terracotta holds an important place, faience too held an important place in the society. They
were part of the everyday life- being used for ornamentation, as decorative arts, as religious
symbols, as part of rituals and to some extent, for making seals. From various finds from the
Harappan sites, we come to know that usage was immense. However, not much has been
discussed about many of t this valuable find. It needs more attention, and thus the aim of this
paper is to explore some elements of faience art- areas that they were found in, technology
involved in making them, faience art from the gallery, analysing the technological, economic,
social, religious and developmental strands and patterns.The research is primarily exploratory
in nature.
❖ FAIENCE ART
Faience is a glassy synthetic product formed by the amalgamation of lime with quartz at
a very high temperature. The glaze found on the surface of the objects is due to silica, which
is an inherent component of quartz. Many Indus sites like Harappa, Lothal and Rakhigarhi
have an abundance of white quartz and quartzite- pointing towards the use of faience in these
places.
❖ TECHNOLOGY
The artisans of Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Indus Valley were creating faience and glazes
using several different techniques by 2600 B. C. (Vandiver 1982). While there was
some similarity in the techniques that were used, differences in the economic,
cultural,regional, as well as social patterns led to the development of various technological
and stylistic differences.
(Kenoyer, 1994)
The artisans of the Indus Valley Civilization used to basically use a technique wherein the
outer core of the object was glazed with the same colour as that of the object. Upon heating,
this glaze bonded with the object in a very uniform manner. On the basis of the quartz
preparation, the technique can be Divided into two methods/processes:
(a) “In the first process, faience paste is made from powdered quartz combined with both
flux or colorant. (Kenoyer, 1994)”
(b) “ In the second process, powered quartz is partially melted with a colorant to produce a
frit and then re-grounded to a very fine powder. Thereafter, it is mixed with additional flux to
prepare the faience paste... (Kenoyer, 1994)” In Indus valley regions, the second method that
resulted in a homogeneous, compact structure with a high percentage of glassy matrix- was
more prevalent, . No other region in the ancient world is known to have produced this glassy
faience. This resultant faience has been termed by McCarthy and Vandiver as ‘Compact
Faience’. The whole process was complex and used various colourants for giving diverse
glazes- including include calcium (pure white colour), copper minerals (blue to bluish green
colour), manganese (black colour), and iron-minerals (yellow, brown and red-brown
colours). The Indus gallery holds an impressive of faience collections. From beads, bangles
and bracelets, to few seals and miniature figurines of animals- they are all there. For the
purpose of simplification, the objects in the gallery have been classified as follows:
➢ Faience beads:
They were made using the efflorescence glazing method. The most common beads were
in blue-green, blue-yellow colours. They were cylindrical, short barrel, blue, green, oblate
shaped and spherical in shape. In the Gallery, one can these beads in a variety of colours and
shapes. They range from common blue green, deep blue to red-brown. Many of them have a
clear glassy sheen to them, which is quite pleasing to the viewer. Bichrome beads, that were
prepared by the colours of the frit and paste separately and then using the two together, were
also very well-liked. An important part of the Harappan aesthetics, they replicated the banded
agate beads of the time. These blue-green beads were combined with gold lining and various
designs and used as minute pendants.
➢ Faience bangles and bracelets:

They were basically made by making a coil of the compact faience paste. The coil was then
rolled around a metal tube like tool and the end of the coil were joined to give it a form.
It was then removed for drying, and when partially dry, incised and decorated with unique
designs. They were then finally dried, fired and made for use. The Museum gallery holds
some examples of these faience artefacts.
➢ Faience figures
The faience figures from the Indus valley, display a distinctive sense of form and proportion,
resulting in an aesthetic harmony in its miniature art forms. This can well be seen from the
various objects They show a delicate intricacy, a detail in form, and a sense of realism.
Though minute in size, they are quite successfully able to capture the body movements. Most
of the figurines are of animals. In fact, most finds are an assortment of animal types- Seated
ram, bull, parrot, monkeys, squirrels and the like. From the exhibits of the Indus gallery, a
group of squirrels is of much interest. They are shown in a variety of postures without any
compromise in their movements- some seem to be calm and relaxed, some alert, and some
indulging. The nibbling squirrel from Harappa is one such example. Some objects like the
faience parrot, are housed elsewhere. Others like the bull and the ram are also noteworthy.
During ancient times, they were made in a two- piece mould. These compact figures wese
first carefully incised and detailed with equipments and then uniformly glazed on an organic
kiln.
4. ANALYSIS
Though, a lot has been written and researched about the faience of Egypt and Mesopotamia,
the faience art from the Indus valley needs more light. Study of Faience art becomes even
more important when large quantities of white quartz and quartzite containing silica, an
element of faience, has been from many Indus sites.
Trade as well as migration patterns between Mesopotamia and Indus Valley and
technological and stylistic similarities in the making of beads found at Harappan sites
pointing towards intercultural links between the two regions. Similarly, in Egypt, the
miniature figurines hold a certain pattern. Both were mostly excavated from burial sites and
both had an either a religious or aesthetic connotation. The monkey, for example, has been
found tombs of various Pharaohs. Certain vessels, in which human internal remains were kept
were crafted such that the lid of the vessel was shaped in the form of a monkey. They were
considered to be vessels through which God manifested in this world. But most striking finds
are of the squatting monkeys, considered to be Gods themselves, and had a protective role.
Such squatting monkeys have also been found in Indus Valley sites. They are of varied
shapes and sizes, but the an important finding is that of the faience monkey. It
bears remarkable similarity to the ones found in Egypt. This too, is believed to be used as a
protective amulet by the Indus people. The Faience objects were focused mainly in the Urban
centres like Harappa, Lothal and Rakhigarhi. Also, it was not available to everyone. It was
expensive, and only few could afford it. Heavy use of faience in what one can term as the
“luxury items” indicates that was used by the wealthy and elite of the society- those that had
the resources to buy them. This is another reason why there is so much use of terracotta,
which was available for the use of all, and lesser use of faience in making art. Also, for this
reason, its non-accessibility to some, became an important social indicator of one’s position
in the society as well.
CONCLUSION The heavy use of Faience also led to later developments in the use of glass
technology and its use in various arts, especially bangle and bead making. “The famous art of
Meena- Kari, enamel on gold and silver, which is still practised throughout South Asia may
also have roots in early experiments with glazed faience inlay in gold” - Kenoyer has rightly
pointed out the similarities in the glazing art of the Persian regions like Multan, which were a
part of the Indus civilization, with those seen in the bangle-making and bead India.
LITERATURE SURVEY
The Indus valley civilization was a bronze age civilization (3300-1300) BC E-nature period
(2600-1900) BCE that was located in the north-western region of India sub-continent
consisting of what is now mainly present-day Pakistan & north western India. The
civilization was spread on some 126000 km making it the largest ancient civilization. The
first gallery on the ground floor of National Museum is called the Harappa gallery. There are
numerous museums world- wide that hold Harappan collection like one is Harappan museum
Punjab, Pakistan.
The Harappa civilization ranks as one of greatest civilization of the early ancient world. Its
importance stems largely from the fact that it is an archaeological example one of the earliest
efficacious civilizations. Its signification & uniqueness have been described in recent years
by different archaeologists. The Indus valley civilization have been the focus of research for
100 years, beginning its discovery for recovering more information on the culture have
progressed regional surveys have carried out. After much research on the Indus civilization,
the geographically extensive ancient society remains deeply enigmatic. In early developments
of art symbol & technology in the Indus valley tradition. The archaeologists studying this
civilization focus on finely crafted art objects in order to understand aspects of economic
socio-politics & religious organizations. The importance of these artefacts and their artistic
elements is crucial due to lack of primary sources considering the factor that the Harappan
script is yet to be deciphered.
Overtime as questions about the past have changed the approaches used by archaeologists to
study finely craft objects have also changed stamp seals is one such category on which
scholars came their perspectives & interpretations one time. The exquisite seals gained world
attention because of their unique style & enigmatic script studied by scholars such as Ernest
Mackay had the opportunity to study seals & revealed that many were used for other
purposes than trade more stimulated new studies were done that would require totally new
methods of data collection & Analysis scholars began to shed light on their socio-economic
ideological developments by studying the artistic elements the symbolic elements to set the
foundation. It is stated that the types of ornaments found in the burials include steatite head
necklaces & bracelets which can be seen in the gallery. The pendants are also inlaid with
lazuli, carnelian & other semiprecious stones. The stone beads were in variety of shapes &
many different varieties of rock was used to produce attractive ornaments as talking about
burials the study has revealed that the female burials have almost twice as many ornaments as
male burials while in the case of juveniles, it is even lesser than adult males. The production
of such ornaments required high firing temperature.
Study on technology has also been carried out, production in the periods following the
Neolithic often 5500BC there is evidence for the local production of soft stone beads such as
steatite & limestone. At the site of Mehrgarh local potters & modelers had developed many
styles of pottery & delicately modelled figurines of humans & animals. This shows that at
Harappa there is a long-term occupational continuity between the different periods.
Another research made shows that the largest category of representational art recovered from
many Indus sites is terracotta figurines. In the detailed research report, archaeologist Sharri R
Clark examines & contextualizes a rich and diverse corpus of hundreds of figurines from the
urban site of Harappa. These figurines reveal new information about Indus ideology and
society. The hand modelled figurines include anthropomorphic & Zoomorphic figures,
fantastic forms with wheels & movable parts served as a medium of communication &
exchange that reflects underlining structure of Indus society and cultural change. The author
focuses on the figurines as artefacts.
The Harrapan civilization and its nuance is one of the largest, most studied archaeological
discovery since its first excavation in 1920-22 and this can be noted in the vast array of
literature sources available on the IVC. In this context, this essay aims at interpretation of
these text via the lens of its availability, usage and its art interpretation, revolving mostly
around their study of objects in the Harrapan Gallery of the National Museum, Delhi.
Another Indus art industry that experienced additions deletion & alteration in shapes &
designs executed on them is the ceramic industry. Types of pottery (i) mud appliqué ware (ii)
tan slipped ware chocolate slipped ware (iii) incised ware (iv)black burnished ware (v)
Bichrome ware (vi) black on red ware (vii) red ware. Painting were executed on various ware
as brown or buff ware, that comprises geometric pattern, black outlined & white filled
figures, depicting faunal & floral motifs the Pipal leaf was also very important as it is one of
the Biochrome ware & black on red showing essentially geometric motifs. The significant
change that has been mentioned is the discontinuance of wares such as deep incised, black
burnished & the mud appliquéd. The deep incised designs comprising chevron, crisscross &
many lines executed on the exterior pots.
Recent excavations at Harappa, as other sites have provided new opportunities to study the
ornaments of the Indus civilization. Numerous ornaments have been collected from the
excavation & Social ritual implications of specific ornaments are examined through their
archaeological context & comparisons with the function of specific ornaments. Two major
work are seen in the systematic study of beads by its beck & careful collection and recording
of ornaments by Ernest MacKay. New opportunities to study Indus ornaments are being
provided through recent excavations at sites in Pakistan & India through careful recoding of
excavations in the centuries at Harrapan, it is now possible to determine specific ways in
which these ornaments were used this information can be now be correlated which the
ornaments styles seen on figures & seal carvings.
Harrapan Art” by Dr. D.P Sharma is one such crucial text that involves the study of the 1500
years old civilizational art components and also aids the research further with extensive
research catalogue cards on the Harrapan objects in the national museum along with an array
of photographs that adds a visual nuance to the text. The book is divided into seven chapters,
along with a preface with a list of illustrations and am appendix of the Jewellery hoard from
Mandi, Muzaffarnagar. The sections separately deal with these units: Stone sculptures,
Bronze Figurines, Jewellery, Seals and Sealings, Terracotta figurines and Pottery.
“Harrapan art” covers over twelve stone sculptures in Chapter two, out of which, three are
those housed in the National Museum, Delhi. Overall, the number of stone figures are 30 in
number and were excavated in archaeological sites of Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro, Dholavira
and Mundigaki. Dr. Sharma makes a stark contrast regarding the sizing of the Harappan
statues to those of Egyptian or Mesopotamian civilization and their effigies. The figurines in
the Harappan gallery are rather a moderate size but this distinguishes them from the
contemporary stone works. The National Museum has collected four of these valuables, out
of which, three are extensively studied:
-Male Torso, made of red stone or Jasper and dated back to 2700 B.C.E. Acc.No. 9042/187.
N.N. 301-61
-Dancer, grey sandstone, discovered in Harappa and dated 2700 B.C.E. Acc.No. 186/987
-Male Priest head, limestone, excavated in Mohenjo-Daro and dated 2700 B.C.E, Hr 910/184
A detailed study of each object is conducted; the male study bears “polish and grinding
marks”, sculpted with a distinguished style that doesn’t mirror west Asian stone works, the
“stylised, shell shaped ears” of the bearded priest, and how the chiselled and wide
cheekbones of the figure are akin to the Dravidian and the Brahui tribesii, and the “soft and
effeminate” body silhouettes of the male dancer. The text detectably aims to study each of the
unique distinctions of the sculptures without trying to club them in the same school or
thematic section. The individuality of each piece is studied, seen via the assessment of the red
sand stone male sculpture, which has been designed with sockets for the hands and arms,
making the limbs movable like a mechanical model. There are comparisons with the
infamous and large number of terracottas of this time period but this could be understood as
an easier way of facilitation the stone studies via a comparative analysis. This chapter is a
definite vital study in the light of these sporadic Harrapan stone sculptures, largely due to the
excessive scholarly light shed on Harrapan Terracotta.
The third chapter involves a study of Harrapan bronze sculptures, which are largely
excavated from the mature phase of the civilization. Dr. Sharma comments on the “artistic
merit and technique” of these exceptional bronze works. This section encompasses two
detailed studies of the iconic Dancing girl and the Bronze buffalo of Mohenjo-Daro, both of
which are the prized possessions of the National Museum. The Buffalo bronze is a sculptural
illustration of the Harappan Lost wax solid bronze casting technique and an inventive work,
with a realistic and artistic interpretation of a buffalo. Dr. Sharma captures the artistic
rendition of the bronze work, stating how the “greatest achievement of the sculpture lies in
the fact that the artist has succeeded in infusing the figure with the sap of life and the delicate
feeling of the pet animal and also capturing a moment of repose in its life.”
Next is the iconic bronze work, termed the ‘Dancing Girl’, who was actually discovered as a
pair in Mohenjo-Daro by Marshall in 1931. Following the Radcliff line, one figure found its
way to the Karachi Museum and the other in National museum, Delhi, of which, this section
has a study on and hails as the “best and unsurpassed in art style”iii. There is a relative
analysis of the Dancing girls, where Dr. Sharma states that the Karachi figurine is rather
unpolished and incomplete compared to the Delhi Dancing girl, which he revers as “one of
the highest achievements” of Harappan metallurgy. The dancing girl has been given a
thorough study in terms of perspective, polish and aesthetic, along with a genealogical
comparison with ‘proto-Dravidians’, and the dance forms and styles such as Kathak in link
with the position and stance of the figure- a possible study into her title as the ‘Dancing Girl’.
The essay also goes into the socio-cultural studies of the Harappan civilization; Dr. Sharma
mentions how the dancing girl is adorned with a necklace and how a similar piece is housed
in the Karachi Museum. This effigy could be a mirror of the women of Harappa or their study
via such an imagery.
Jewellery of the Harappan Civilization is the chapter 4 theme, the earliest archaeological
evidences of which were discovered in Mehrgarh, Kunal, Nausharo, Rakhigarhi, Kalibangan,
Dholavira and Nagwada. The text studies over 24 pieces of Harappan jewellery in the
National Museum, which also involves a gold needle, discovered in Mohenjo-Daro. These
ornaments range from gold necklaces and chokers to the infamous Harappan beads and
carnelian stones. It also includes ‘heart shaped bangles’, similar to the ones adorned by the
Dancing girl. An interesting study is that of the 2700 B.C.E Gold Brooch, excavated from
Mohenjo-Daro, which is designed with semi-circular gold beads that mirror the typical style
of Harappan gold jewellery making. Dr. Sharma also adds to the trade studies of the
Harappan Civilization, noting the indigenous and foreign materials used in jewellery making.
In this, the tubular red carnelian beads were being exported to the Mesopotamian civilization,
which were punctured in with a ‘chipping technique’iv, making carnelian beading a speciality
of the Harappan craftspeople and Dholavira, Rakhigarhi, Lothal and Chanhu-Daro as bead
making sties. The copper mines of Ziarat, Las Bela, and Banu Basin in Kabu and Bikaner and
khetri mines in Rajasthan were also drilled for copper jewellery. Harappa was also trading
with Mesopotamia, Afghanistan and Central Asia, importing in materials for jewellery
making, along with turquoise from West/Soviet and Central Asiav.
The fifth chapter deals with the glyptic study of seals and sealings, one of the most important
nuances of the Mature Harappan period. These were used for import, export and trade,
especially with Mesopotamia, where Indus valley seals were discovered and vice versa, but
weren’t without its own artistic rendering and worth. The seals, largely rectangular or square,
bore low relief engravings and pictographs of human, animal and bird figures and the
infamously undeciphered Harappan Script and have perforated ‘emboss’ on their backs. The
text goes on to describe and decipher the seals and their time period, place, a detailed
paragraph of their functions and usage and the artistic value of the animal representations,
such as the Mohenjo-Daro Bull seal with the famed humped bull and its “powerful and
naturalistic” display. Dr. Sharma also accrues a study of eight ‘rare’ seals of the National
Museum collections, which are -
Pasupati or proto-Shiva seal
Unicorn before an Incense burner
A Man with Two Tigers
Horned Deities and seven human figure seal
A Pipal tree and Unicorn Heads
Seal depicting Ship
Seals depicting Swastika
Seal showing the Humped Bull
These are studied via a historic and artistic lens, with detailed erudition each seal and why
they are distinguished. Dr. Sharma specifies their specialization and gives a whole new
dimension too their display in the Harappan gallery.
“Chapter Six: Terracotta Figures” is the largest, a most detailed and knowledgeable rendition
of Harrapan baked clay artefacts and how they reflect societies’ “socio-cultural and artistic
traditions”. This chapter also includes a thorough artistic and historic study of over seventeen
male terracotta figures, twenty-eight female figurines, forty-two animalistic sculptures and
busts, fourteen bird terracottas and one game board for chess exhibited by the National
Museum, Delhi.
The last chapter deals with Harrapan pottery, with the author emphasizing against the
scholarly tendency to club terracotta and pottery in the same genre and their differences that
state otherwise. The author gives a comprehensive study of Harrapan potteries and their
phases, which can be further defined in Dr. Sharma’s edited work “Harappan Potteries”; this
text comprises the works of J.M Kenoyer authoring ‘The Ravi Phase: Early Harappan
Ceramics’ to the ‘Mature Harappan Potteries’ by A.K Khanna. The chapter in ‘Harappan Art’
largely focuses on the time period, dating and archaeological factors and compared to the
other aesthetically detailed and artistical explanation of the art objects is absent in this
section.
Review of book- ‘Pre & Early Harappan culture of western India ‘by Prabodh Shivalkar
reveals that each excavated site has its own cultural phase named after the type site ‘Broad
Characteristics of these cultures are as follows: -
Padri Culture- This culture is identified after the ceramic type –‘Padri ware’ & hence is
termed as ‘Padri Culture’ According to excavators this is a course ware divided into thick &
thin varieties the thicker one is made up of coarse clay with sand as tempering material thin
ware is represented by a variety of deep bowls with straight or inverted sides, bowls with
slightly reverted rims. Basins have flat projecting sound undercut rims and globular pots have
short one turned or bladed rims. Also, the paintings are done carelessly in black. The motifs
include vertical or horizontal bands of chevron pattern the thin variety is finer than the thick
one made of fine clay & is well fired, the slip is thick red. On the neck there is horizontal
bands decorated with a mesh pattern in black or very rarely is white.
Other ceramic types: -

Pink slipped ware- ill fired, thin in section. it has pink-slip over which design such as
connected hatched diamonds, oblique lines suspending from a broad horizontal band short
horizontal strokes & a leaf motif are executed in black.
Bichrome ware- crude course in fabric, its sub category is red ware (painted). Former has red
slip over which paintings were executed in black such as vertical many lines, cross banana
leaf pattern.
Plain handmade ware-it has fine and smooth surface without any slip or design.
Miraculous red ware-it is fine in texture & well fired. The slip colours vary from light red to
orange. The dominant shaped of thin ware are globular jars with flared mouth, converse sided
bowls, lamp with pinched lip & perforated cylindrical jars. The paintings are done in black
colour. The painted motifs consist of horizontal bands, wavy lines, loops, zigzag lines, groups
of dots & strokes.
Harappan culture share a good amount of ceramic & other culture similarities. Early
Harappan culture flourished in other regions earlier work carried out in the regions has
mainly emphasized on the differences in ceramic assemblage but now there is a used to see &
re-analyse this materials order to understand the degree of similarity & to understand the
cultural process within the region.
At the same time, it is important to see contribution how the entire cultural complex is
behaving. The aim of this analysis was to show that ceramic is mainly focused because the
others cultural material is scanty & is not available for work. As well as the different culture
are identified on basis of ceramics that is why it is considered for the research to study the
regional variations.
Previously V.D Gogte has carried out major work in this field in India. The pottery was
studied. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that some of the ceramics are brought from
outside. The analysis showed that all the wares were produced using local clay. The work
carried out showed the indigenous manufacturing of the pottery. The painted motifs that can
be seen on ceramic are in the form of these designs latticed circles, horizontal parallel lines,
hatched diamonds, squares, circles, loops
Editor B.R Mani, draws specific attention to an axe & a figure of a feline the axe is not an
ordinary one, it is made up of a bronze copper and probably used for cutting fire wood. There
is a large rocket at the butt end. Over it sits a winged feline. The blade is sharp & the axe is
decorated.
Art objects that uses excavated were closely observed pottery is treated as the most
utilitarian the creative designs and typical postures of animals & birds drawn on the surface
of pottery show the direction of free & symbolic form. It was analysed in this research that
art has both subjective & objective interpretation of the expression of an artist famous cult of
mother goddess was confined to the Indus valley. A lot of mother figurines are found in the
gallery Indus civilization made of terracotta. Terracotta from Indus range from pale pink to
pleasant red. It is never dark. The art was expressed in a beautiful manner even the inner
sensitivity is well expressed by the sculptor. All the art objects & figurines excavated have
given us enough evidences of the existence of art tradition. The study that author has done
reveals different artistic perspectives of viewing the art object like for jewellery decorative
perspectives is shown how it is a natural instinct of man to decorate himself. This has
resulted into expression as decorative arts. A lot of jewellery items, best of its collection are
present in the gallery. the natural intrinsic beauty of clay wood beads, seeds, gems & metals
attracted craftsman. The Indus people used terracotta beads to make necklaces & bangles &
they were also shown on figurines like that of dancing girl who is adorned with bangles from
the anthropomorphic forms in culture one can know the established tradition in the art of
jewellery the design we see on the different material jewellery has a symbolic reference and
the design was also dependent upon the raw material “ Jewellery depicts fashion, fashion
depicts art ”
A long necklace with several pendent in the form of long beads is a common type, gold was
also highly used jewellery “while discusses in the context of the Indus society, we may have
to limit ourselves with visual arts” it can’t possibly be traced without the performing arts
The art of Indus valley that survives today enriches our understanding of the lifestyle of those
people.
Even the dancing girl indicates there was art of dance during Indus period. Researches during
20th century has demarcated the categories of art & craft. The art & craft that was left behind
and can be touched and seen is a great field of study and research. It connects different time
period, generation, culture and also people to its roots. It’s essential for Harrapan gallery to
portray Indus art to people in a way that leaves a life time impact and educates them at all
levels.
The author Ernest Mackay in book “the Indus civilization” talks about architecture and
masonry, religion, ornaments, arts and crafts. Overall study helps us in understanding the art
in a number of ways. Starting with religion, the only stone image yet discovered which can
definitely be said to be of a deity about 7 inches in height. This figured clothed in a robe
which is carried over the left shoulder and it is carved in relief; the trefoil pattern is obviously
a sacred symbol. The figure had a short beard and shaven upper lip, in the latter fashion
resembling other figurines, both of gods and men in latest Sumer. He studies peculiar images
that has half shut eyes. The investigator gets more information about the deities through
numerous pottery figurines from Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa. He studies a very common
figurine of a female nude with a skirt, these figurines wear much jewellery and a curious fan
shaped head dress with two cups like project. The another provides a strong reason to believe
that this represent the great mother goddess. They were kept in almost every house in Indus
valley cities. We also have other male deities wearing the horns of a goat or a bull and it
would be certainly seeming that both these animals were sacred.
Talking about the dress and personal ornaments that is beautifully shown through the
figurines of males and females in the gallery. The other Ernest Mackay has studied them
closely. The costumes of mother goddess are representative of the women attire of the
feminine population of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro. Then there is jewellery these figurines
are bare to waist, otherwise wear one or very scanty skirt which terminates well above the
knee. A very similar skirt is worn by the female deities on the seal amulets, though it appears
to be considerable shorter in front then behind. The head dresses worn by males and females
may have been stiffened cloth supported by a framework. The cumbersome nature of this
headgear is even today worn by some Mongolian tribes. The nude figurines are of bronze and
represent dancing girls. Coming to the hairstyles, a clay figurine of a crawling infant with
curly hair has been found at Mohenjo-Daro and it is quite probable that some of the people
had curly hair. The method of trimming beard in style is quite vivid. A short beard with
shaved upper lips has been portrayed on a male figure. It is explained that our knowledge of
this ornaments is derived chiefly from the various hoards which has been excavated. Most
interesting discovery was made by Daya Ram Sahani, who unearthed a number of necklaces
and stone beads contained in silver jars and others lying loose on the soil.
There was abundance of copper and bronze in the Indus valley. Their objects have been
found like majorly metal utensils made of copper and bronze. Blade axes also of very simple
form appeared to have been used for a number of purposes. We see two categories - long,
narrow and short, broad. Other categories of metal tools that we have in the collection are –
spearheads, narrow heads, blades, copper swords or Dirk’s, spear blades, razors, chisels.
Inscribed tools and weapons are far more common at Harappa. The small piece of dancing
girl gives us perfect example of bronze casting.
In the field of arts and crafts, a huge amount of pottery has been recovered from Harappan
sites. A lot of design pigments we see painted with black. Clay has been used containing
large percentage of Mica and limestone in fine particles. The most common pattern is of tree
pattern and leaf pattern alternating with other motifs. Some of the patterns are well defined,
another well-known design is the chess board pattern formed of squares. Thin borders or
ribbon designs frequently run right round the jar relieve the main decoration. Thicker borders
are also well known. Rare designs include figures of snake and fish. No human figures occur
on pottery from Mohenjo-Daro.
Important aspects of this literature help us to understand the important key concepts of our
topic, the author explains art of all different categories. The knowledge gained further helped
us in this research.
CONCLUSION
It is concluded that, all the research and review of the imposing civilization has resulted in
different theories, schools and trends in this field. The Harappan civilization is such a broad
topic on which research has changed and is further changing, making it an ever vast and
dynamic field. It is clear from the literature reviewed that field of Indus studies has a massive
possibility for further scholarship and study, especially in terms of its archaeological
discoveries displayed in the National Museum. Categorically, a specific study of this vast art
and artefact collection in terms of its art aspect could be a further opportunity of conceptual
studies as a guidebook for imminent researches, an example of which would be “Harappan
art” by Dr. Sharma. Collection housed at the Harappan gallery is definitely the most
extensive with all the specimens representing an entirely proto-historian, ancient and
foreboding era and this gallery demonstrates the artefacts over which a lot of researchers have
worked and presented a very critical work of understanding of its art.
VISUAL ANALYSIS
Script – haven’t been deciphered yet

Visuals - have a language which has been explaining the context and significance of our
civilization.
VISUAL ANALYSIS- IS BASICALLY A VISUAL PERCEPTUAL SKILL
 Geometrical Patterns
 Motifs and designs form flora and fauna
 Different shapes of container
 Various material and polish
 Purpose and technique
Why visual analysis is important for us?
 It hones critical understanding
 Decipher the hidden facts behind the art work
 Understand the meaning of element and principles of art and design
 Interpreting the significance from various dimensions
 Glyptic
 Lapidary
 Jewelry
 Ceramic
 Pottery
 Sculpture
Through the study of these artifacts we can elucidate-
 The historical context and interpret the cultural value of that time
 We can evaluate the living life and social scenarios
 We can visualize the interdisciplinarity of trade, economy and technology
 We can think essentially visionary ideas
Can be seen these artifacts in the light of -
 Material exploration
 Technology driven
 Imaginative
LIMITATIONS
The biggest limitation of our research is that the script of Harappan is still not deciphered and
the historians are still arguing on the nature of the script that was used and the language that
the Indus people spoke. Because of not having any idea about what is mentioned on the seals
it is very difficult to read and understand the context of it. There are hardly any objects in the
gallery which indicate towards the type of administrators or the kind of rule that they had
ruled by a King or by a republic is not clear and is not a part of our research. We have objects
which show the kind of ornaments that the women used and also the kind of utensils that they
used for cooking purpose but minimum do we know about the position of women in the
society from the gallery and this is one of the limitations that we have in our research. Just
like the Gandhara and Mathura school of art there must have been some art schools in the
harappa as well but that is not a part of our research. We an argue that the harappans must be
having different art schools by looking at the harappan works of art and the kind of variety
they pose. The stone age artefacts in the museum has a small collection which were gifted by
Deccan College, Pune. Hence, the representation of pre-history prior to 3rd millenium B.C is
limited. The biggest limitation of the gallery is that the objects are put on display according to
their category but not according to their chronology which sometimes becomes a matter of
concern for the researchers.
FINDINGS AND SUGGESTIONS
The topic of our assignment is ‘review and study of harrapan gallery’ and this full assignment
we have first tried to give a brief introduction on the harrapan civilization it main and
important sites. Then in the introduction of the gallery we have tired to find out when our
gallery was established, what were the display items at that period, what are the changes and
development has been done so far. We have also tired to find out of the is work is brought to
national museum gallery which is done with help of the Archaeological Survey of India. We
have also emphasised on the spaces of the gallery and how the space is used in the gallery for
the display of the objects. We have taken five major category of artwork that is ceramic art,
glyptic art, sculptures, jewellery, lapidary and we have discussed in detail about the major
finding of these objects, the sites from which they got excavated, what is period of these
objects and when they were excavated, their aesthetic value and why they are important from
historical, economical, social point of view understand in the Indus civilization, and mainly
focused on the object which are displayed in the gallery. We have also included a literature
survey to find out the work done so far on the Harappan civilization and on Harappan gallery
of the National Museum. This helped us in broadening our respective towards the Indus
valley civilization and also directed us towards the areas on which we can do our work and
include them in our research. And then we have also done a little visual analysis and
interpretation of the objects as well as of the gallery as whole. We have our limitation’s as
well and we have discussed them properly. And as the outcome of this whole process we
have some observation and finding of the whole process of this research. And we will
discussed here in detail and the result of these outcome. There are some place and areas
where there is margin of important to make gallery visually, aesthetically, ethically, and
visitor friendly and these thing we have included in suggestion.
Pottery is the one of the most important finding of Harappan civilization because it provides
the uniformity to the Indian history and culture. Gallery have displayed used collection of
different type of potteries such as glazed, polychrome incised, perforated and knobbed there
are two technique which were used in pottery making, first is handmade and another is wheel
made. The plain pottery is generally red in colour is more common then the painted ware.
The painted pottery is found commonly in red & black colour. In pottery we find a wide
variety of objects such as drinking vessels, vase, flasks, narrow necked vases, storage jars,
offering stands, dish, dish on stand, bowls, handi-cup and cup on stand, ring stand, casket
feeder, lid and lamp, perforated pottery. We have observed geometrical design, floral designs,
Funals designs.
Our gallery holds the finest collections of the sculptures of the Harppan civilization. These
sculptures are made of different materials like brass, bronze, red sandstone, jasper, lime
stone, terracotta etc. We have dancing girl, priest head, male torso, dancer, bronze bull,
different terracotta figurines of mother goddess, terracotta toys of animals, such as monkey,
pigeon case, toy animal with movable head, two monkey holding each other etc. These
variety of sculptures shows the sensitivity towards art of Harrapan people of that time. Due to
vide variety of toys found from this civilization so this civilization is also known as the
civilization of children.
We have thousand of good seals Harappan sites, but we can only see very few fine seals in
Harrapan Gallery i.e. Phashupati Shiva seal, seal depicting Pipal Tree with unicorn. In gallery
we can’t see proper depiction of the seals because these seals are not given proper space and
they are put randomly in the showcases of other objects. But we can see the depiction of the
copper plate is very good. From the gallery you have the general idea ab out the glyptic art,
which motivated us for further studies on this topic.
We go to know about Indus art from different researches. This art knowledge was essential as
it further hell us in showing it to the visitors. The collection of the Harappan gallery is the
best & unique & has almost all the artifacts essential for study of Indus art. Closely
examination of these objects by researchers and scholars allow us to study the art from expert
books and their perspective.
Art and craft lot of emerging scope. Further study for filling the gap, in our knowledge can be
done linking art and craft to society, culture of two difference generations of having a gap of
5000 years.
There is large collection of beads in the Harppan gallery. Some of the important sites where
the beads are made are found in Mehergarh-III, Gazi Shah-I, Amari and Shari, Surkotada,
Chanudaro, Dholavira. The technique used for making these beads are flokings, grindings,
baring. In traditional society are not just fashion statement, but they also depict important
ritualistic or symbolic motifs.
The main and finest sculptures which reflect the age of Harappan civilization are not given
proper space and they are just put into two small showcases for ex. dancing girl, priest head,
male torso, pashupati seal, seal of man between two tigers, bronze bull etc. And out of these
two showcases, one showcase in which dancing girl is shown there is no light.
The most of the object which are displayed in the gallery are shown in glass and wooden rags
and the whole rags of glass is vertically divided into five parts and the lights is given from the
upwards and due to that the reflection of the objects falls on the objects of the lower cases.
And this the use of light very . We con clearly notice their is no light in some showcases and
we are not able to see the objects clearly.
Metals and copper utensils from Dholavira, Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro which are shown in
display. They are not properly conserved and their is a lot of dust and dirt on these objects.
We can also notice some metal objects which are corroding and some objects like gamesman
is having a lot of fungus and some of them are even powdering, which may also harm other
objects in the same showcase. And these objects are in such a poor condition which needs to
be conserved immediately.
In some of the showcase there are many categories of the objects and of different sites are put
together which make the display of the items complicated and it make difficult to student and
to visitors to gather information from these objects due to improper display. Also, sine of
them are having exhibit details.
They displayed same type and categories of object in recitative time in many spaces of the
gallery, due to which the continuity of the gallery is lost and visitor get distraction. It doesn’t
The beads and jewellery is not properly displayed in the gallery and they are just kept on the
glass rags and they have also put so many beads and jewelry together which make
complicated to understand the variety of these bead and jewellery.
This one of the most visited gallery of the museum because of the two reason because it is the
first gallery of national museum from where the galleries are started and another because of
its academics importance and public’s interest to know about the 5000 years old civilization.
But due proper navigation gallery becomes and it also have an echo-problem due which
visitor get distracted and gallery become too noisy.
This gallery is important from the education point of view for researchers, student, visitors,
museum persons and there is a huge repository of knowledge and collection , which creates a
large scope of study but due to its mismanagement, lack of good curation and conservation it
makes difficult and complicated to the viewers to gather knowledge from the gallery.
The have display the pictures of maps and town plans of the sites randomly but the visitor is
hardly able to connect between the town plan and other display of the objects.
There are hundreds of the objects in the display and we hardly find description of these
objects if we want to know about any particular object, it’s style, it’s period, location, it’ use,
the process of work etc.it is not available.
SUGGESTIONS
When we look at the showcases there are some Showcases which have as many as hundred
objects of different categories in one showcase and there is no description. So we can make
small block of showcases and show few objects of the same category with proper description
which will promote a deep understanding of objects between the visitors.
So we can notice the pottery and terracotta figurines of animals and birds all over the gallery
without proper classification and we somewhere fails in displaying what we show to our
customers properly. So this problem can be solved by categorizing the objects and try to pre
sent each present each category one by one with proper navigation like first sculpture, then
seals, pottery, copper utensils, terracotta toys, weight and mass and likewise.
We notice that important sculptures are not given proper space and lighting like dancing girl,
maletorso, priest head, bronze bull etc. For that we can display these sculptures in proper and
can use showcases which are used in bronze gallery. So we can have the three dimensional
view of these sculptures.
The museum has large collection of seals but they do not have any proper space in the
gallery. So these seals should have proper showcase for their display.
The jewellery is just kept on the rags and appears like thousands of beads are put together
which hardly attract visitors. So, these jewellery can be properly presented in a thematic way
or should be hanged on the showcase and visitors can have at least can have the front view of
this jewellery. They can also display like the way in which they have displayed one terracotta
pot and out of which a rosary of beads is hanging out of the pot. So this type of themes can be
developed which can make display more interesting.
CONCLUSION
The focus of this endeavour into the extensive study of the Harrapan Gallery, National
Museum, is the archaeological collection housed within it and its different dimensions. In the
case study of the seals, a drawback of the gallery encompasses the vast resource of the
National Museum which haven’t been displayed, along with a lack of detailed research upon
the already displayed seals. The Harrapan gallery, the objects within, the museology
regarding their overall display and their artistic value is the crux of this essay, while one
crucial conclusion can be understood as the deficits of the gallery, which is also one of the
biggest hindrances in scholarly advances. This includes the lack of a proper, chronological
arrangement of the gallery in spite of a thematic display and thus, this paper also follows that
thematic course.
Seals of the Harappan gallery, their engravings and usage can be a vast study in terms of
their trade links, social elements, aesthetic study of the high relief carvings, the seal standards
etc. if further explored as a theme. Similarly, pottery as a whole subject within the national
museum, to examine further in terms of their artistic aspects alongside their social usage, and
how they are an important study of archaeology’s initiation and further education in India can
be analysed.
This essay also highlights how Harappan sculptures are models of the past; a lens via which
one could theorize the religious elements. An example would be the Mother goddess
figurines which were suggestively worshipped for fertility and prosperity. One of the
positive aspects in terms of the study under scope of research and literature survey conducted,
it can be conclusively stated that despite the vast volume of research available on his historic
civilization, there is a rather ever changing, dynamic nuance and scope for further research,
especially in terms of the aesthetic and artistic value of the Harrapan gallery, the socio-
cultural values of the excavated exhibitions and the lifestyle and decline of the civilization as
a whole via the perspectives of object-study within the gallery.
To conclude, the Harappan gallery must be highlighted in a larger and grander scale to
enhance the archaeological marvels and a collection within this gallery, which is the epitome
of representation of an historic era. Improvements in terms of the gallery must be sensitive to
its archaeological, historic and art history importance and ensure every factor, physical to
theoretical, must advance to expand current interaction with the gallery.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Agrawal,D.P.2009.Harappan technology and its legacy. New Delhi: Rupa and infinity
foundation series.
Arkell,A.J. 1936.Cambay and the nead trade.Antiquity10:292-305.
Balakrishnan, Usha R. Alamkara the Beauty Of Ornament. Janpath, New Delhi: National
Museum, 2014
Carr,EH.What Is History,Australia,2008
Tomory, Edith. A History Of Fine Arts In India And The West. New Delhi, India: Orient
Black Swan, 2016.
Harappa.com. (2019). Faience ornaments. [online] Available at:
https://www.harappa.com/slide/faience-ornaments [Accessed 5 Dec. 2019].
Huntington, Susan, and John Huntington. The Art Of Ancient India: Buddhist, Hindu, Jain.
1st ed. New York: Weatherhill, 1985.
http://www.potteryindia.com/anicent.pottery- introduction.php.
https://www.culturalindia.net/indian-crafts/indian- pottery.html
Kenoyer, Jonathan Mark. Faience from the Indus valley civilization. 1994
Kenoyer, J.M, “Early Developments of Art, Symbol and technology in the Indus Tradition”,
2001
Kenoyer,J.M. 1986. The Indus bead industry:contribution to bead
technology.Ornament10(1):18-23
Kenoyer,J.M.,Vidale and K.K Bhan.1994.Carnelian bead production in Khambhat,India:an
ethnoarchaeological study.In Living Traditions:Studies in the Ethnoarchaeology of South
Asia(Ed.)B.Allchin.New Delhi:Oxford and IBH Publishing Company.p.281-306.
Mackay, E.J.H, “The Indus Civilization”, Sang-e-Meel Publications, 1935
Malik,Malti.History of India Main Aspects And Themes,Delhi,Atul Gupta Publishers,2009
Matthiae, P., and Carl Clifford Lamberg-Karlovsky. Art of the First Cities: the Third
Millennium BC from the Mediterranean to the Indus. Metropolitan Museum of Art,
2003. McIntosh, Jane. The ancient Indus Valley: new perspectives. Abc-Clio, 2008
Miller, Heather M‐L. "Associations and ideologies in the locations of urban craft production
at Harappa, Pakistan (Indus Civilization)." Archeological Papers of the American
Anthropological Association 17, no. 1 (2007): 37-51
"National Museum, New Delhi". Nationalmuseumindia.Gov.In, 2019.
http://www.nationalmuseumindia.gov.in/.
Nandagopal, Choodamani. Arts and Crafts of Indus Civilization. Aryan Books
International, 2006.Vandiver, Pamela. "Technological change in Egyptain faience."
Archaeological ceramics (1982): 167-179
Redford, Donald B., ed. The Ancient Gods Speak: A Guide to Egyptian Religion.
Oxford University Press, 2002
Sharma, D.P “Harappan Art”, Sharda Publishing House, 2007
Sharma, D.P “Harappan Potteries” Bhartiya Kala Prakashan, 2010.
Sharma, D.P.Harappan Civilization 2700B.C-1900B.C. Noida, U.P: Devangana Prakashan,
2011.
Singh,Upinder.A History Of Ancient and Early Medieval India,Delhi,Pearson Longman
Publishers,2009
Thapar,Romila.The Penguin History of Early India From The Origins To AD
1300,Delhi,2002
Tiwari, Pushpa.Prachin Bhartiya Aabhushan.Allahabad, U.P: Kitab Mahal, 1992
Tomar, V. ‘Indus Valley Civilization’, International Journal of Social Science and
Humanities Research, Volume 3, Issue 3, 2015.
Touregypt.net. (2019). The Baboons and Monkeys of Ancient Egypt. [online] Available
at: https://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/baboons.htm [Accessed 2 Dec. 2019]
www.examrace.com/studymaterial/indianart.html
www.harrapa.com
www.indianetzone.com/1/arts_crafts.
www.indianetzone.com/6/harappa.html>

RM Final Assignment Print Out

Hochgeladen von

Dokumentinformationen

Originaltitel

Copyright

Verfügbare Formate

Dieses Dokument teilen

Dokument teilen oder einbetten

Freigabeoptionen

Stufen Sie dieses Dokument als nützlich ein?

Sind diese Inhalte unangemessen?

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

RM Final Assignment Print Out

Hochgeladen von

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

STUDY AND REVIEW OF HARAPPAN GALLERY:

TRACING THE HARAPPAN ART TRADITION

DR. CHOODAMANI NANDAGOPALA

 INTRODUCTION TO HARAPPAN CIVILIZATION

1 HARSHADA MANE INTRODUCTION TO HARAPPAN

3 KRITIKA JOSHI INTRODUCTION TO GALLERY

4 MEHAK SEJWAL GLYPTIC ART

5 TANISHA VIJAYRAN CERAMIC ART

6 DURGESH KUMAR JEWELLERY

7 ARTI PAL LAPIDARY ART

8 RAJESH KUMAR SCULPTURES

9 SHARANYA SAHAY FAIENCE ART IN INDUS VALLEY

9 SUKANYA KADYAN LITERATURE SURVEY

10 ASHUTOSH LIMITATIONS OF RESEARCH

11 NARENDRA FINDINGS AND SUGGESTIONS

12 SAOM M. MALOMMU CONCLUSION

ASSIGNMENT COMPILATION: HARSHADA MANE

There are about 3800 artefacts which have been

However some issues like lack of maintenance,

I.V Mohenjo-Daro, C.2600-2900BCE

In lapidary art we basically focus on beads origin,types,and techniques of making beads.the

MATURE HARAPPAN SITES

MATERIAL USED FOR BEADS MAKING:

Image Courtesy: National Museum, New Delhi

LOTHAL BEAD FACTORY

A bead factory with a working

SEATED MALE IN NAMASKAR:

 This figurines is sporting a turban like headdress

SHORT POTBELLY MOTHER GODDESS

 This is moulded and wheel made figure with a

 This is a cream slip coated animal body.

MAN HOLDING DUCK

➢ Faience bangles and bracelets:

Other ceramic types: -

Script – haven’t been deciphered yet

VISUAL ANALYSIS- IS BASICALLY A VISUAL PERCEPTUAL SKILL

Through the study of these artifacts we can elucidate-

Can be seen these artifacts in the light of -

Das könnte Ihnen auch gefallen