Torso from Harappa, Delhi, Central Asian Antiquities Museum

Date

Authors

Herbert E, Budek Films and mounted transparencys, Santa Barbara, California

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Abstract

Description

We saw in slide seven the partial figure of a man done in what has been called the 'formal' or severe style of the Indus Valley, The torso shown in the present slide is exemplary of the second style known to have been created alongside the formal, this is the naturalistic or 'organic' style and is quite sensitively handled, Although the figure is again small, under four inches in height, the treatment is masterfully handled with genuine understanding of the workings of the human body, If we compare this work with Mesopotamian or Egyptian art of the same period, we can readily see that the striking degree of naturalism of the Indus example is beyond the stiff, block or cylindrical types of the other two civilizations, Even though the torso is treated rather frontally itself, we do not feel compelled to view it strictly so as in the case of Egyptian sculpture, The heavy line below the abdomen will reappear in statues of the Kushana period,

Keywords

Indus Valley Pottery and Sculpture, stone sculpture, mounted transparency set

Citation

Source

Type

Image

Archives Series

Basham Collection

Date created

1968

Access Statement

License Rights

This image is provided for research purposes only and must not be reproduced without the prior permission of the Archives Program, Australian National University.

DOI

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