Most of the sculptural remains found at Harappa sites are confined to Mohenjo Daro and Harappa. the biggest sculpture found is only 42 cm high and most of them are made in steatite alabaster or limestone. Few of them represetns elderly men with beard abd wearing loose garments. The important among the statuttes from Mohenjo Daro which held the attention of art historians include the "Bearded Man" kept in Karachi National Museum. This bust of the bearded man made of a soft stone steatite measuring only 17.5 cm is also regarded as wonderful piece of art and trearted as an early attempt at portraiture art i.e. creating a likeness of a person in the painting or sculpture.
In the bearded Man's sculpture, his half closed eyes, straight nose, thick lips, stylised beard & hair, excessice use of lines to create beard and hair texture with design on his garments indicate definite attempt of indus valley artist at portraiture. Terra-cotta sculptures found at indus valley sites are more than either stone or metal sculptures. The numerous seals of burnt clay or stone, around two thousand in numbers discovered in excavations constitute one of the most interesting finds of this civilisation and added to the mistery surrounding this proto-historic culture. These seals which are very small, mostly square or rectangular in shape form the main body of pictorial records of those times. These seals have some writing engaved on them which consist of images and is considered to be the pictographic script. Despite many attempts this script is not yet been deciphered. The seals are engraved in low relief with images of animals, humans, complex mythological creatures and plants. The majority of these seals come from the sites of Harappa, Mohenjo Daro & Lothal.

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Indus Valley Art : Proto-Historic Period (3500 BC)

The "Dancing Girl" now in the National Museum, New Delhi found at Mohenjo Daro alone has changed the way one looked at antiquity of Indian Art. Dancing girl, the miniature bronze Sculpture of bearly four inches high speaks volumes about indus valley artists, craft persons & metal casters superb skills as well as creativeness. The sense of movement in this figurine points to dancing pose and possibly scholars arived at the title "Dancing Girl". Anotomical acurracy (except slightly long legs), natural expressions on the face, minute details such as bangles, neckless, elaborately coiled hairs and above all the vivacity of the stance are the striking features of the "Dancing Girl" . She is without clothes which is rare in Indian art. Mostly the human figures in the indus valley objects/seals are of female and they are nude except for a narrow girdle round the loins. In the dancing pose her right hand is on her hip, left hand covered with bangles from shoulder down to the wrist is resting lightly on the slightly bent left leg. "Vivacity" of this stance has held the attention of art historians all over the world.

                

           (Mohenjo Daro- Dancing Girl)



        

      ( Bearded Man - Mohenjo Daro)

 
 

Indus Valley artists had carved these tiny seals capturing the essential characteristics of the ceatures with extraodinary vitality. Except guess work, no one is sure about the use of these seals in those times. Trade, Family Indentification, religious use are the few probable purposes suggested by the experts.
Objects found at Indus valley sites revealed excellence in sculptures & crafts but except few house hold pottery having geometric patterns painted on them, there is no indication of progress in painting. Large variety of terra-cotta toys such as monkeys, birds, bulls, toy-carts with animals have also been found at these sites. Two of these carts are made in copper and most of it are in terra-cotta. It is amply clear that the attitude of the indus valley people was utilitarian and it is difficult to think that whatever the art they made is along the principle "Art for Art Sake". The bronze sculpture of "Dancing Girl" is considered a good piece of art and can be considered as a non-utilitarian value, though real purpose may be something else. The bull, the rhinoceros, the roaring tiger, figures of three monkeys sitting around a circle and clasping one anothers waist with their arms, a sitting squirrel and figures of a yogi & pasupati Shiva are some of the best examples of art works in Indus Valley civilisation.