The Indus Civilization (Cambridge History of India, Supplementary Volume) c17.25

c17.25

Stylistically, these sculptures are largely *sui generis*. The rendering of the somewhat narrow (but not Mongoloid) eyes and the hair, and the extreme disharmony of the face in relation to the remainder of the head, in particular the low receding forehead,¹ are features which distinguish the series from the approximately contemporary works of Mesopotamia.² On the other hand, the notably sturdy neck and the shaven upper lip are common to the art of both countries, and the use of inlay for the eyes—a sufficiently obvious device—is familiar also in Mesopotamia and Egypt. The modelling is rudimentary, or perhaps decadent if these works do in fact belong to a late phase of the city; and the additional possibility of excessive generalization in religious sculpture conforming with a narrow hieratic tradition may be borne in mind. Certainly if two much-discussed stone statuettes from Harappā are also of the Indus period, the potentiality of the Indus sculptor is not represented by the Mohenjo-daro series.