Object Lesson: The Indus Dancing Girl

What is it?

The Dancing Girl dates to the Harappan period of the Indus Valley, c.2500 BC. At 10.5cm high, she stands with her hand on her hip, left knee raised, and her hips set in a relaxed pose. Her limbs are long and thin, and – except for her necklace and the 25 bangles up her arms – she is completely naked. Her head, tilted upwards with a strong, defiant expression, displays a confidence that has made her one of the most popular and intriguing artefacts found at this ancient site.

Where was it found and when?

Mohenjo-daro is the best-preserved and most-ancient urban centre of the Indus civilisation, located in modern day Pakistan. Its size and architecture suggest a complex and sophisticated society. The site comprises the citadel, an administrative complex, and the lower city, a vast sprawl of private houses. On 26 January 1927, Daya Ram Sahni, an officer of the Archaeological Survey of India, working in the south-western lower city, found the Dancing Girl beneath a small house structure.

Why does it matter?

The Dancing Girl is one of the earliest cast bronzes of the Indus civilisation. Made using a process called the lost-wax method, she is evidence of advanced techniques in metal-casting. Her expressive posture, for which she was named, is also sophisticated in style, though there is still debate as to whether she is actually supposed to be dancing. If she is, she would represent the earliest example of a dancing figure belonging to the Indus culture, and her movements would foreshadow later Indian sculpture which is heavily influenced by dance. Either way, found in a simple house, she gives an insight into life and culture during the Indus Age, suggesting that dance, or at least expressive art, was a part of the everyday. She has been much admired over the years, as archaeologists have tried to decipher the thoughts behind her posture and facial expression. She has, since her discovery, been described as impudent, self-confident, arrogant, and filled with youthful superiority. Archaeologist Gregory Possehl said ‘we may not be certain that she was a dancer, but she was good at what she did and she knows it’. Mortimer Wheeler, during a television programme broadcast in 1973, described her as ‘A girl… perfectly confident of herself and the world. There’s nothing like her, I think, in the world.’