Harappan Civilizations & the Aryan Migration (ca. 2300-1750 B.C.E.)
Artist: unknown
Title: Female figure, detail of headdress
Material: Terracotta
Site: Mahenjo-Daro, Pakistan
Current Location: National Museum, New Delhi, India
Period/Date: Indus/Harrapa Civilization/ ca. 2300-1750 B.C.E.
Iconography/Iconology: Female figure. A large number of female figures
survive from the Harrapan Civilization. This has led to the speculation
that there was a "mother goddess" cult, of some sort, as an aspect
of their religious life. Since the mother goddess cult in the Indic sphere
is well-known to be of great antiquity, and continues to the present day,
it seems likely that this speculation is true.
Stylistic Comments: While there has been much speculation about the
meaning and purpose of this type of figure's headdress, it seems visually
obvious that they are baskets of some sort into which objects would have
been placed. However, what the objects were or the purpose for placing the
objects in the headdress is unknown.
