Art and craft of any particular civilisation is a mirror to the world, showcasing the rich culture and tradition of the people inhabiting it and quite ideally, therefore, the history of Indus art and craft is of course not an exception. Indus Valley Civilisation also had many distinct styles in art and handicraft. The Indus civilisation lasted for nearly five hundred years and flourished up to 1750 B.C. The architectural remnants of this civlisation have enabled the archaeologists to draw certain conclusions about its culture and art and crafts.
As far as architecture of Indus Valley civilisation is concerned, it was of a startling utilitarian character with uniformity of plan and construction. The buildings consisted of houses, markets, storerooms, and offices; many of these structures consisted of a brick ground-storey with one or more additional floors in wood. The constructions of Mohenjo-daro also reflect an urban spirit where this ancient lacks architectural grandeur. The baked brick construction is perhaps the feature most suggestive of the building methods of the ancient cities of Mesopotamia, but the bricks of Mohenjo-daro and Harappa are fire-baked, and not sun-dried. Certain architectural features, such as the use of narrow pointed niches as the only forms of interior decoration along the Indus are suggestive of a relationship with the ancient Near East. Among the more interesting structures at Mohenjo-daro were the remains of a great public bath.
One of the most remarkable pieces of sculpture found in the excavations of the Indus Valley Civilisation is a small male torso made out of limestone and found at Harappa. Another damaged statue from the same place complements this torso in its striking forecast of iconographic and stylistic elements of the historical periods of Indian art. This image is carved in greyish limestone and represents a dancing male figure with four arms and three heads. It is at times assumed that this statue is a probable prototype for the later Hindu conception of Lord Shiva, the god of dance. On the other hand the copper figure of the dancing girl from Mohenjo-daro is prophetic of metal-work of the Chola Period.
Discovered by the archaeologists, seals are another important aspect of the Indus art and craft. These are engraved in a `pictographic script` often used as amulets, carried as modern day identity cards to the owners, this gives an insight into this system which was an integral part in the social practices. These seals are a piece of art portraying various animals and also at times humans. Amongst these the Pashupati seal is the most famous. Models of animals were used as pin-heads and beads. Terracotta toys with movanle heads were also prevalent. One thing evident from the Indus art and craft in general is that both the women and men wore ornaments. Ornaments of various materials like gold, silver, ivory, bones, shells were common. These archaeological findings help us to summarize that these people were also quite stylish with different hairstyles, beards, cosmetics and so on.
By far the greatest numbers of the Indus Valley seals are carved with figures of bulls, either the zebu or the urus ox, some of them with objects resembling altars or mangers before them. Although the iconography cannot be properly identified, it appears likely that this popular bovine emblem is related to the cult of the bull as a fertility and lunar symbol in ancient Mesopotamia and perhaps as a prototype of Shiva`s attribute, the bull Nandi. From the aesthetic point of view the designs of the animal seals of the Indus culture are priceless. They aptly complement the perfection of the human statuettes from Harappa. In fact these artifacts narrate a lot about the civilisation and its culture. Indus art and culture was very developed and much improved even in those times. The objects tell about the prevalence of art and craft and the imaginative prowess of the natives and the flourishing trade that they had with others.
The art and crafts of Indus Valley Civilisation also reflect the expertise of the craftsmen. They made beads of carnelian, agate, amethyst, turquoise, lapis lazuli, etc. They manufactured bangles out of shells, glazed faience and terracotta and carved ivory and worked shells into ornaments, bowls and ladles. They cast copper and bronze for weapons, all types of tools, domestic objects and statues; they also worked silver and gold with great skill, especially for ornaments. Of course, they baked pottery in large quantity - to the delight of archaeologists, since the different shapes, styles, and painted motifs are among the best guides in the evolution of any civilization. The Harappans also excelled at stone-carving, complex weaving and carpet-making, inlaid woodwork and decorative architecture.
Indus art and craft has a deep effect on modern Indian art and crafts as well. In modern India the use of Collerium and other toiletry items are seen that were also prevalent in the Indus civilisation. The ability to create powerful symbols was something that could only be done by using special technologies and specific raw materials that were not easily accessible to the common people. The new elites and powerful merchants of the state controlled the crafts that became very significant in strengthening social and ritual status. From one generation to the next, through network of kins, the knowledge of specific craft technologies were passed on. Faience working and seal carving are the crafts which were indisputably associated with the growth and integration of new social groups which used distinct types of artifacts to demarcate themselves and their ideologies, customs and tradition. There is a very preliminary but stimulating pattern in the predominant location of craft production on the southern half of the city mounds. The exception is pottery firing, which is found in both northern and southern locations. Else the northern halves of mounds tend to have either private habitations or public buildings.
Ordinary household items like saddle querns, mullers, pounders, bowls, etc. were probably made by a separate group of craftsmen. The processing of semi-precious stones, such as, agate, carnelian, onyx, jasper, plasma, crystal and others was done by bead-makers who had their own workshops. A bead making factory was excavated at Lothal where around 800 finished and unfinished beads were found, along with the evidence of a kiln. Due to the continuity of bead-making industry in the modern times, it has been possible to get a good idea of how beads of semi-precious stones were manufactured, right from the collection of stone nodules to the final polishing.
Because of the continuity of bead-making industry in the modern times, it has been possible to get a good idea of how beads of semi-precious stones were manufactured, right from the collection of stone nodules to the final polishing. Etched designs were put on some carnelian beads by first immersing the designed beads in a plant-derived alkaline substance and then heating them for the absorption of the alkali by stone. Some beads like the long barrel-cylinder beads in translucent red carnelian or those made of moss agate were possibly considered very precious because one would require a large quantity of raw material to make them. Micro-beads made of steatite paste which was made hard by heating are a distinct Harappan feature, and so are the beads made of faience which is obtained by amalgamating lime with quartz at high temperature. Conch-shells were widely used for bangles, etc. just as they are used now. Ivory was used generally for beads and gamesmen, and although bone was used for beads, its more common use was for making awls and pins. Varieties of gold and silver jewellery and silver vessels, especially from Mohenjodaro, Harappa and Lothal, indicate the emphasis placed on these precious metals. The main types of gold ornaments comprised bracelets, necklaces, armlets, pendants, ear-studs, beads, bosses, brooches and fillets. Direct evidence of cotton has not survived except as impressions. Evidence has also been obtained of the firing of a class of terracotta bangles (called stoneware bangles) at high temperature.
Moreover, it is evident from the discovery of a large number of spindles of various sizes that people used both of cotton and woollen materials. Men and women wore two separate pieces of clothes similar to dhoti and shawl. Ornaments, too, were worn by both men and women. While necklaces, fillets, armlets and finger rings were common to both sexes, women wore girdles, earrings and anklets. Ornaments were made of gold, silver, copper, ivory, precious and semi-precious stones, bones and shells etc. From archaeological findings it appears that the Harappans were conscious of fashion. Different hairstyles and beards were in vogue. Cinnabar was used as a cosmetic and face-paints, lipsticks and collyrium (eye liners) were also known to them.
Indus art and craft, thus, exhibit some of the most intriguing characteristics of a rich cultural heritage that existed ages back. These also have an impact on the contemporary art and craft. The excavated remnants are a source of wide ranging information about their handicrafts, which is really fascinating. The civilization that vanished without a trace remains a mystery. Indus art and crafts speak a great deal about the lost civilisation.
