Indus Valley Art

Despite the plethora of artifacts that
have been recovered from the cities of
the Indus Valley civilization, objects
that could be interpreted as works of
art are surprisingly sparse. No traces of
decoration have been found inside or
outside the buildings, nor has any monumental architecture been discovered.
The art objects that have been found
in Harappa, a city on the Ravi River in
Pakistan, have all been on a smaller
scale: several stone statues of male torsos, the head and torso of a bearded
man, a copper statue of a young woman
naked except for bangles and jewelry
(said to be a “dancer,” because her arms
and legs are lifted), statues of women
with elaborate headdresses believed to
be icons for a Mother Goddess cult, and
the images of plants, animals, and
humans carved on the Indus Valley
Seals. The latter show delicate and quite
realistic work, indicating a great deal of
skill in working the stone, as well as the
ability to make realistic figural images.