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An exquisite bronze figurine from Mohenjo-daro has not received as much attention from art critics and archaeologists as the bronze statue of dancing girl. This figurine holds some object on her right hand. This figurine is now held in Karachi Museum. Request information which may help identify the object held by this slender lady with a hair-knot, wearing wristlets, bangles and anklets. Thanks.
What is the female figurine with wristlets, bracelets, anklets and hair-knot carrying in her right hand?
Second bronze statue of a girl c.2500 BC, now displayed at Karachi Museum, Pakistan. Original publication: Ernest Mackay, Further Excavations at Mohenjo-Daro, 1927-31, New Delhi (1937-38). Ernest Mackay discovered this during his final full season of 1930-31 at DK-G area in a house, Mohenje-daro. "Bronze female figure, Mohenjodaro". masterfile.com. Masterfile. Retrieved 15 November 2014. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dancing_Girl_(Mohenjo-daro)#cite_note-7
See: http://www.masterfile.com/image/en/841-02824318/Bronze-female-figure-Mohenjodaro-Karachi-Museum-Pakistan-Asia
The first statue of 'dancing girl' is displayed in National Museum, New Delhi. http://nationalmuseumindia.gov.in/prodCollections.asp?pid=44&id=1&lk=dp1
Hypothesis: The second bronze female figurine is also that of a dancing girl. The arguments are:
I have not been able to access a clear photograph of the second 'dancing-girl' bronze statue. She also has her bent left arm with the wrist on her waist as if in a dancing pose. A flipped pose compared with the first dancing girl pose. In the second statue, she holds some object on her right hand. I think it may also be a diya as if she is a dĭ̄palakshmi offering an ārati to Skambha Pillar of Light :)-- to complete the phrase khāra-baṭi 'blacksmith furnace' based on rebus rendering of the hieroglyphs: karā 'wristlets, bracelets' PLUS bātĭ̄ ʻ wick ʼ(Old Awadhi), vaṭṭi -- , °ikā -- f. ʻ wick ʼ(Pali), vaṭṭĭ̄ -- , °ṭiā -- , vatti -- f. 'wick of lamp' (Prakritam) varti id. (Samskritam) http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2015/09/second-bronze-female-figurine-from.html I have requested for info. Hope someone responds.
ārātrika n. ʻ the ceremony of waving a lamp in front of an image at night ʼ AVPariś., ʻ the lamp so waved ʼ Śaṁkara [*ārātri -- ]Pk. ārattiya -- n.; K. āra tī f. ʻ a special kind of address to a god ʼ; S. āratī f. ʻ the ārātrika ceremony ʼ, P. ārtī, Ku. ārti; N. ārati ʻ the song sung at this ceremony ʼ; A. B. ārati ʻ the ceremony ʼ, Or. āratī, āḷati; Bi. ārtī ʻ a lamp with four or five wicks used in a temple ʼ; Aw. ārati ʻ the ceremony ʼ, H. ārtī f., ārtā m. ʻ marriage ceremony in which a lamp is waved ʼ; G. M. ārtī f. ʻ the ceremony ʼ, M. ārat f.(CDIAL 1315)*ārātri or *ārātra -- (1) ʻ evening ʼ, (2) ʻ from after night, i.e. morning ʼ. [rāˊtri -- ].(1) K. arāth, dat. arātas m. ʻ nightfall, evening ʼ. -(2) Bshk. árat ʻ morning ʼ (or poss. ʻ one night ʼ NTS xviii 125), Tor. (Barth) "ẓhāt"ʻ morning ʼ.
(CDIAL 1314)
Sindh government wants 'Dancing Girl' statue back from India
Sunday, 2 February 2014 - 4:24pm IST | Agency: PTI
At a time when a controversial festival organised by PPP leader Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has drawn the attention of people to Sindh's ancient culture, Pakistani authorities are planning to ask India to return the famous 'Dancing Girl' statue from Mohenjodaro. "We are writing to the federal government to help us repatriate our exiled heroine back to us from India," an unnamed member of the cabinet of southern Sindh province was quoted as saying by Dawn daily today.
The 10.8-cm bronze statue, made in 2500 BC, is on display at the National Museum in New Delhi. Along with the Priest King, it is considered one of the two most famous artefacts from Mohenjodaro, one of the oldest planned cities. The demand comes at a time when Bilawal has organised the Sindh Festival at Mohenjodaro amid fears among archaeologists that the event would damage the ruins.
Unnamed officials were quoted by Dawn as saying that the Dancing Girl and Priest King were transported by British archaeologist Sir Mortimer Wheeler to Delhi in 1946 for an exhibition. After the Partition in 1947, Pakistan sought the return of both relics.
Unnamed officials were quoted by Dawn as saying that the Dancing Girl and Priest King were transported by British archaeologist Sir Mortimer Wheeler to Delhi in 1946 for an exhibition. After the Partition in 1947, Pakistan sought the return of both relics.
A Pakistani official visited Delhi and succeeded in bringing back the King Priest and the Fasting Buddha. There is a popular legend that Indian authorities refused to hand over both relics and asked Pakistani authorities to choose between the Priest King and the Dancing Girl, the report said. "The Pakistanis chose the King Priest made up of soapstone. Perhaps they were hesitant to get hold of a naked teenager to avoid a possible backlash from religious quarters," one official said.
The Priest King — a bearded man wearing an ajrak-like cloth with hair neatly combed back — is currently on display at the National Museum of Pakistan in Karachi.
Experts said they had asked previous governments to bring back the Dancing Girl but no one took interest. The tiny bronze statue of a young woman is suggestive of two breakthrough - that Indus artists knew metal blending and casting and that the well developed Indus society had innovated dance and other performing arts, India's National Museum says in its description of the Dancing Girl.
Qasim Ali Qasim, director of Sindh's archaeology department, said Islamabad's efforts in 2009 brought back 13 artefacts of the Gandhara civilisation from several countries.
http://a.harappa.com/sites/g/files/g65461/f/Kenoyer1992_Ornament%20Styles%20of%20the%20Indus%20Valley%20Tradition%20Ev.pdf
Clearly, the wearing a fillet on the shoulder and wearing a dress with trefoil hieroglyphs made the figure of some significance to the community.
S. Kalyanaraman
Sarasvati Research Center
September 28, 2015 kalyan97@gmail.com