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NCERT Class 11 Fine Art Chapter 2 Arts of The Indus Valley
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Arts of The Indus Valley
Chapter: 2
| EXERCISE |
1. Would you agree that the people of the Indus Valley Civilisation were great art lovers? Give reasons for your answer.
Ans: Yes, the people of the Indus Valley Civilisation were great art lovers. Their artistic skills are evident in their meticulously crafted seals, pottery, and sculptures. The Indus Valley people were highly skilled. They made pottery, metal vessels, tools and weapons, weaving and spinning, dyeing and other crafts. The weavers wore clothes of cotton and wool. They knew about leather, but there is no evidence of silk to be found. The seals, often depicting animals and mythological figures, reflect their creativity and precision. The famous bronze statue of the Dancing Girl demonstrates their expertise in metalwork and an appreciation for human form and movement. Terracotta figurines and painted pottery reveal their sense of aesthetics and daily life representation. The artists and craftsmen of the Indus Valley were extremely skilled in a variety of crafts—metal casting, stone carving, making and painting pottery and making terracotta images using simplified motifs of animals, plants and birds. Their use of intricate geometric patterns and designs on ornaments and beads further highlights their artistic inclination and cultural sophistication.
2. What kind of similarities and differences do you find between present-day terracotta and the Indus Valley terracotta?
Ans: Present-day terracotta and Indus Valley terracotta share similarities in their use of clay as a primary material, fired at low temperatures to create durable objects. The modern day terracotta figurines are the evolved progress of Indus valley figurines. Differences are as follows: Indus valley terracotta figurines were not like today Gods and Goddesses. Indus valley sculptors were not mostly ignorant of organic compounds that could reduce the shelf life of figurines. Both showcase artistic skills, depicting animals, humans, and everyday life. However, Indus Valley terracotta, dating back to 2500 BCE, served as toys, figurines, and ritualistic objects, reflecting the socio-religious life of the time. Modern terracotta includes a wider variety of functional items like pots, tiles, and sculptures, often with more refined techniques and decorative styles. Unlike the handcrafted simplicity of Indus Valley pieces, present-day terracotta benefits from tools, molds, and technological advancements for precision.
Indus valley civilisation and modern day have a great similarity between them and those are: Houses made up of bricks for mainly shelter, godown system for storage and the sewage or drainage system.
3. Seals were made of different materials. With the Indus Valley seals as a reference try to make seals with a different medium. Which are the animals that you would like to carve on your seals and why?
Ans: Using the Indus Valley seals as inspiration, I would experiment with materials like wood, metal, or ceramic for creating seals, combining tradition with durability and modern aesthetics. Thousands of seals have been discovered by archaeologists from the Harappan sites. Most of the seals were made of steatite, which is a kind of soft stone. A few of them were also made of terracotta, gold, agate, chert, ivory and faience. The standard Harappan seal was square in shape with a 2 × 2 dimension. For carvings, I would choose animals like elephants for their symbolism of strength and wisdom, peacocks for beauty and grace, and tigers to represent courage and power. The Harappan seal-tablets depict a number of animals, but eight are most common. Four of these are wild animals of the grasslands: rhinoceros, elephant, buffalo, and tiger. These are in a minority within the entire sample of seal-tablets. The other four animals are domesticates: goat, zebu.
These animals reflect cultural values and resonate with contemporary symbolism, much like the unicorn or bull of the Indus Valley seals, which symbolized prosperity and protection. Such seals could serve as artistic pieces or personal emblems, connecting ancient practices with modern creativity.
4. What do the art objects that have survived tell us about the daily life of the people of the Indus Valley Civilisation?
Ans: The art objects that have survived from the Indus Valley Civilization provide valuable insights into the daily life of its people. For instance, terracotta figurines, seals, and pottery often depict animals, human figures, and scenes that suggest a society deeply connected to agriculture, trade, and religion. Seals, engraved with motifs of animals like bulls, elephants, and unicorns, highlight the importance of livestock and trade. While many ancient civilisations focused on worship, it seems that play was very important to the Indus Valley people. They made toys and small figures of people and animals, using metal and clay.
The Art object such as paintings which were mostly found in India Ajanta caves tell us about the Buddha and they were mostly placed to decorate the homes of the rich but in Indus Valley Civilization, the painting were as an identification on their currencies on which some animal burials or fossils were used. On the other hand, in the Indus Valley Civilization, paintings were primarily used as symbols of identity, often appearing on seals and currencies, where they depicted animals, deities, or motifs related to daily life and trade. These symbols were also found on certain burials or fossils, reflecting the civilization’s connection to nature and its complex social and spiritual beliefs.
5. Imagine you are a curator working in a museum and you have been given the task to create a museum exhibit on Indus art. Collect illustrations of at least ten objects made of stone, metal and terracotta produced and used during the Indus Valley Civilisation and create this exhibit.
Ans: Indus Valley excavation sites have revealed a number of distinct examples of the culture’s art, including sculptures, seals, pottery, gold jewelry, and anatomically detailed figurines in terracotta, bronze, and steatite. The museum exhibit, “Crafting Civilization: Art and Artifacts of the Indus Valley,” showcases a selection of objects from the Indus Valley Civilization, made from stone, metal, and terracotta. Highlights include intricately carved seals, the iconic bronze “Dancing Girl,” and terracotta figurines. The exhibit also features copper and bronze tools, decorative pottery, and fine jewelry, demonstrating the civilization’s advanced craftsmanship.
Art and craft was an important industry in the Indus valley civilization because enough evidences are present which suggest the presence of specialised groups of artisans such as bronze smiths, gold-smiths, brick-makers, stone-cutters, weavers etc. Objects of gold are reasonably common. Additionally, visitors can explore stone weights, terracotta carts, and inscribed tablets, offering insight into trade, daily life, and religious practices. The exhibit emphasizes the artistic sophistication and technological innovations that defined the Indus Valley Civilization.
