The Indus Civilization c8.21

c8.21

Bronze is used for figurines as well as for models of small animals, and the casting in most cases shows great technical skill, the method employed being the *cire perdue* or wax process, a technique well known in Sumer and ancient Egypt. A small bronze figure of a dancing-girl is a perfect piece of casting, while closely approaching it in excellence is a little figure of a buffalo (Pl. K, 7). No examples of beaten work have been found other than the utensils; but it is quite possible that this kind of work was used for larger pieces of statuary of the type found in Sumer and in Egypt, and that these pieces have not survived or, more likely, are still to be unearthed. In any case, there seems no doubt whatever that the metal-smith held a prominent place among the inhabitants of the Indus valley and had plenty of material on which to exercise his skill.