A Copper-Bronze Animal in Harappan Style from Bahrain: Evidence of Mercantile Interaction

Author(s): E. C. L. During Caspers

Source: Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, Vol. 30, No. 1 (1987), pp.
30-46
Published by: BRILL
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3632024 .
Accessed: 18/06/2014 17:12

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

BRILL is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Journal of the Economic and
Social History of the Orient.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.20 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 17:12:23 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 Journalof theEconomicand SocialHistoryof the Orient,Vol. XXX

A COPPER-BRONZE ANIMAL
IN HARAPPAN STYLE FROM BAHRAIN:
EVIDENCE OF MERCANTILE INTER-
ACTION
BY

E. C. L. DURING CASPERS

In the early seventies') when I published two collections of grave

goods excavated by amateur archaeologists from some of the Bahrain
tumuli, which were subsequently presented to the Department of
Western Asiatic Antiquities of the British Museum, before the pass-
ing of the present law on antiquities by the Department of Archaeology
of Bahrain, little was known about the Bahrain tumuli other than the
material previously published by Durand, Bent, Jouannin, Prideaux,
Mackay and the Danish Archaeological Expedition2). In recent years
much more has become known about the archaeology of Bahrain
because of several extensive excavations both by foreign archaeological
missions, in particular the French3), as well as by the joint Jordan-
Pakistan-Bahrain archaeological team under directorship of Shaikha
Haya Ali Al Khalifa4). As a consequence a much more varied insight

1) E. C. L. DurmingCaspers, The Bahrain Tumuli, Proceedingsof the Fifth Seminar

for Arabian Studies, 1972, pp. 9-19; Id., The Bahrain Tumuli, Persica No. VI,
1972-1974, pp. 131-156; Id., The Bahrazn Tumuli An Illustrated Catalogueof Two Im-
portant Collections,Uitgaven van het Nederlands Historisch-Archaeologisch Instituut
te Istanbul, XLVIII, 1980, pp. 49, XLII plates.
2) M. Rice, Searchfor the ParadiseLand, Longman, London and New York, 1985,
pp. 286-292 for all relevant references; also E. Haerinck &K. G Stevens, Pre-Islamic
Archaeologyof Kuwait, NortheasternArabia, Bahrazn,Qatar, UnztedArab Emiratesand Oman.
A Bibliography, Gent, 1985
3) S. Cleuziou, P Lombard &J -F Salles, Fouilles a UmmJidr (Bahrazn) ADPF,
Paris, 1981, P Lombard, J -F Salles, La Nicropole deJanussan (Bahrain), Maison
de l'Orient, Lyon, 1983
4) Moawiyah Ibrahim, Excavationsof theArab Expeditionat Sdr El-Jisr Bahrain, State
of Bahrain, Ministry of Information, 1982; M. Rafique Mughal, The Dilmun Burial
Complexat Sar The 1980-82 Excavatzonsin Bahrain, State of Bahrain, Ministry of In-
formation, Directorate of Archaeology & Museums, 1983, also M. Rice 1985

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.20 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 17:12:23 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 A COPPER-BRONZE ANIMAL IN HARAPPAN STYLE 31

into the prehistory of the island of Bahrain is now emerging5), much

assisted and placed in a better perspective by investigations and ex-
cavations in several parts of Saudi Arabia6) which often provide strik-
ingly similar archaeological material.
The unveiling of new and hitherto unknown aspects of the earliest
inhabitants of Bahrain can be briefly summarized by referring to the
exciting discovery of a group of tumuli near Sar-Buri on the west coast
of the island. Some of the dead had been furnished with a shell stamp
seal7) which, according to Shaikha Haya may well be regarded as the
forerunner of the round steatite Dilmun stamp seal, so characteristic
of the third-early second millennium B.C. civilization of Bahrain,
Failaka island and the Saudi Arabian littoral areas. I am particularly
inclined to agree with Shaikha Haya in seeing these shell stamps as
an earlier type of sealing device, because of the peculiar drill bore techni-
que used to produce the design and Shaikha Haya refers to the fact
that "This artistic style was common in the early cultures of the Near
East such as Jemdet Nasr'".Ta).
Etched cornelian beads from the same burial area') point to the In-
dus Civilization as another area of contact outside the Gulf region prop-
er. A third exciting discovery at Buri, not far from Hamala Town on

5) Shaikha Haya Ali Al Khalifa & M. Rice Eds., Bahrain throughthe ages, the Ar-
chaeology, KPI Limited, London, 1986.
6) Atlal. TheJournal of Saudi ArabianArchaeologyVol. 1 (1977)-., D Potts, North-
eastern Arabia in the later Pre-Islamic Era, R. Boucharlat, J -F Salles Eds., Arabze
Orientale,MisopotamzteetIran Miridional de l'Age du Fer au Dibut de la Piriode Islamique
(Histoire du Golfe) Editions Recherche sur les Civilisations, Mimoire 37, Paris,
1984, pp. 85-144.
7) Cleuziou, Lombard & Salles 1981, pp. 25-27, Fig. 15, Nos. 1-3, P1. VII,13,
Ibrahim 1982, pp. 37-39, Fig. 48, Pls. 57-59; Mughal 1983, pp. 64-66, P1. XLIX.
7a) Haya al Khalifa, The shell seals of Bahrain, Shaikha Haya Ali Al Khalifa
& M. Rice Eds., 1986, p. 258.
8) E. C. L. During Caspers. Sumerian Traders and Businessmen Residing in
the Indus Valley Cities. A Critical Assessment of the Archaeological Evidence, An-
nali dell 'IstitutoOrientaledi Napoli Vol. 42, 1982, pp. 337-379; Id., Sumerian Trading
Communities Residing in Harappan Society, B. B. Lal, S. P Gupta Eds., Frontiers
of the Indus Civilization. Sir Mortimer WheelerCommemorationVolume,Books & Books on
behalf of Indian Archaeological Society jointly with Indian History &Culture Society,
New Delhi, 1984, pp. 363-370

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.20 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 17:12:23 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
32 E. C. L. DURING CASPERS

the west coast of Bahrain9), is that of a group of burial cairns

of a new type with grave goods mainly in the form of pottery which
has been tentatively identified with that known from the Umm an-
Nar Culture of the U.A.E.9").
Material similar to that in one of the two collections published by
me in 1971, 1972-1974 and 198010), the so-called Higham material
the bulk of which pertains to the Seleucid-Parthian period (ca. 200 B.C.-
ca. 200 A.D.) and a smaller portion consisting of the Barbar Culture
of the middle/late third and early second millennium B.C. and at pres-
ent of no concern to us, has now also been excavated by the French
archaeologists under J.-F. Salles at Jenusan"). An enormous cemetery
largely dating from the Hellenistic, Parthian and Sasanian periods has
also been discovered on the southern edge of the central mountain range
of Oman in the Wadi Samad and therefore called the Wadi Samad
Culture'2).
However, the exceptional wealth of the Higham grave 36, typical
of the type of interment employing a series of individual stone-built,
mud or cement-lined graves, roofed with stone slabs and placed either
in separate mounds or built into one common mound of an irregular
shape at different levels and on different alignments, so far remains
unequalled. At the feet and in the region of the lower legs, besides
typical bluish-green glazed Parthian pottery, lay three glass objects of
exceptional archaeological and historical importance. These consisted
of a deep 4,6 cms. high purple pillar-moulded bowl with opaque white
marbling and twenty-five ribs running from below the straight neck

9) I owe my gratitude to Shaikha Haya for allowing me an one-day study trip

to these mounds after the close of the Bahrain Through The Ages Conference,
Bahrain, December 1983
9a) S. Cleuziou, Dilmun and Makkan during the third and early second millen-
nia B.C., Shaikha Haya Ali Al Khalifa & M. Rice Eds., 1986, p. 149
10) See footnote 1.
11) Lombard & Salles 1983
12) G Weisgerber, Mehr als Kupfer in Oman, Der Anschnztt33 Jahrgang, 5-6,
1981, pp. 225-226, 239-243, B. Vogt, Ist Mill. B. C. Graves and Burial Customs
in the Samad Area (Oman), R. Boucharlat, J -F Salles, 1984, pp. 271-284, 5 figs.,
Id.Ph.D dissertation on the funerary customs In early Oman (forthcoming).

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.20 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 17:12:23 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 A COPPER-BRONZE ANIMAL IN HARAPPAN STYLE 33

to the region of the slightly hollowed base; a milky white 6,6 cms. high,
non-transparent rimless bowl with globular body and flattish sagging
base and a small, 12 cms. high, amphorisk of blue glass with white
trails and one surviving high-swung handle. The purple pillar- moulded
bowl belongs to a group of glass vessels which ocurred in the Near
East and even further west ca. 50 A.D.'3), a date which accords with
the white glass bowl and the blue amphorisk, since these two shapes
are regularly encountered during this period. They were most likely
manufactured in Syria14). The discovery of these three, undoubtedly
expensive, luxury items together in one grave in Bahrain, certainly
attests to the importance of the person buried here and also to the cen-
tral place this island must have held in the East-West encounter during
the first centuries A.D. In this respect it is of interest to note that the
biconical amethyst beads which formed part of a necklace of 38 agate,
crystal and amethyst beads lying inside the purple-moulded bowl, can
be matched with similarly shaped amethyst beads in a necklace reported
to have come from Ayn Jawan tomb in north-eastern Arabia and dated
to the first- second century A.D.'5).
The growing interest in Gulf Archaeology, resulting in an increas-
ing number of surveys and excavations in the various regions of the
Arabian Gulf, is not only advantageous for the Hellenistic history in
this part of the Middle East but also, equally importantly, a study of
the interrelationships between the Arabian Gulf areas and regions across
the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, notably Pakistan Baluchistan
and the Indus Valley Plains in the third and early second millennium
B.C. is now also receiving proper attention.

13) D B. Harden et al., Masterpiecesof Glass. The Trustees of the British Museum,
London, 1968, No. 51, No. 69; C. Islngs, Romanglassfrom datedfinds (Archaeologica
Traiectina II), Groningen, Djakarta, 1957, pp. 17-19; Glas utt de oudheidin: Verres
de 1'Antiquit6 Rijksmuseum van Oudheden Leiden 18/5-19/8 1962, Catalogue No.
50, repr. 33; H. E. van Gelder en Beatrice Jansen, Glas in NederlandseMusea, Bussum,
1969, afb. 9
14) During Caspers 1972-1974, pp. 152-155.
15) Potts 1984, Fig. 6.

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.20 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 17:12:23 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
34 E. C. L. DURING CASPERS

In the light of this recent development in Harappan studies this con-

tribution will be a reappraisal of my previous publication on the burial
gifts from a tumulus at Hamala North situated at the southern tip of
a moundfield in the north-west of Bahrain and roughly in the same
region as two burial mounds excavated by the Danish Archaeological
Bahrain-Expedition in 195416). This one-storeyed tumulus had been
excavated by amateur archaeologists and in 1969, before the passing
of the present law on antiquities the grave goods were generously
presented by the excavator to the Department of Western Asiatic An-
tiquities of the British Museum, London. This Jefferson material, which
is now on permanent exhibition, is largely suz generis. Besides pottery
types for which I was able to find counterparts elsewhere in the material
from the Bahrain tumuli and in the City II occupation levels of the
Qala'at al-Bahrain, the large prehistoric settlement site on the north
coast of the island, the Jefferson collection also contains objects for which
I was unable at the time to suggest convincing parallels and which are
still largely without a clear chronological and/or a cultural context.
One of these objects is the upper part of a red-slipped, wheel-thrown,
rimless goblet, still measuring 9,1 cms. which may originally have had
a pedestalled splayed foot. A zone of five cross-hatched butterfly motifs,
once only alternated with a tree-like pattern and executed in a plum
red paint, is set under the outside rim and the same plum red paint
once covered the entire outer surface. Between 1977 and 1979 in three
single mounds of Type 1 of the tumulus field at Sar el-Jisr the Arab
Expedition discovered three goblets of which two approach in shape,
though not in colouring and decoration, the goblet from the Jefferson
tomb at Hamala North. The third goblet from Satrel-Jisr, which, in-
cidently was found together with one of the other two in one grave,
compares in shape but not in colour and surface treatment with three
goblets discovered in tumuli at A'ali by the Danish Bahrain Ar-
chaeological Expedition in the early 1960-ies'6a). Nevertheless it

16) T G. Bibby, Fem af Bahrains Hundrede Tusinde Gravhoje, Kuml 1954, pp.
116-141.
16a) Rice, 1985, P1. X.

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.20 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 17:12:23 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 A COPPER-BRONZE ANIMAL IN HARAPPAN STYLE 35

would seem that these goblets belong to the rarer funerary objects and
their local manufacture, or perhaps more appropriate, their Bahrain
origin still remains debatable. The connection between the pottery
goblets and the copper/bronze goblet from the Jefferson tumulus re-
ferred to below, has also been remarked on by Ibrahim'7) who wrote
"A metal goblet was found at Hamala (During Caspers 1980. Fig.
2d, P1. VI) which may indicate that the metal goblet precedes the pot-
tery ones or they were made at the same time" (p. 32). I still feel that
the pottery cup type as discovered at Hamala North may well have
originated in the same cultural environment as the copper/bronze
rimless goblet on a splayed hollow foot'8), mentioned by Ibrahim, which
stood near the head of the deceased and most likely contained some
liquid, judging by some stones which had been placed on its foot to
prevent it from tipping over.
The geological composition of north-eastern Arabia and Bahrain
precludes the existence of copper deposits and third millennium B.C.
Mesopotamian cuneiform references to Dilmun, which is ancient
Bahrain, as one of Sumer's three copper suppliers must therefore be
seen as a clear indication that Bahrain and the neighbouring littoral
regions of north-eastern Arabia functioned as an important interna-
tional entrep6t and emporium for goods and products brought in by
ship and caravan from areas further up the Arabian Gulf and from
across the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. Copper for local con-
sumption had, therefore, to be imported as well and although
bronze/copper objects have been discovered in burial deposits, main-
ly copper/bronze socketed spearheads, knives, daggers, arrowheads,
needles, pins, bracelets and fingerrings, one socketed spearhead was
found in the top levels of City I and corroded copper scraps came from
all levels of Cities I and II'"a), and a copper/bronze bull's head

17) Ibrahim 1982, p. 32.

18) During Caspers 1972-1974, p. 141, note 32.
18a) G Bibby, The origins of the Dilmun Civilization, Shaikha Haya Ali Al
Khalifa & M. Rice Eds., 1986, p. 111

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.20 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 17:12:23 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
36 E. C. L. DURING CASPERS

maski9), the handle of a mirror modelled as a nude male figurine2")

and a copper/bronze dove were encountered in the late third/early sec-
ond millennium Barbar Temple Complex21), Bahrain has so far failed
to provide substantial evidence of a large-scale local copper industry.
Copper foundries, may, however, be concealed in the large areas of
the Qala'at al-Bahrain which have been left untouched since the days
of the Danish Expedition.
The nearest copper producing and mining area is the Wadi Samad
on the southern edge of the central Oman mountain range. Copper
is also available across the Gulf of Oman where copper mines exist
at Khetri and late third millennium copper workings have been reported
from Ganeshwar, in District Sikar in Rajasthan. Oman has been
postulated as a source of the copper used by the Indus Valley Civiliza-
tion, largely because of the presence of nickel as a trace element in
the ore of the region and the co-incidence of a high nickel content in
Harappan copper-bronze objects. However, the Khetri mines may also
be postulated as another possible source of supply for the Harappan
coppersmiths based on the comparison of the trace impurity patterns
of the Khetri coppermines and of Harappan artefacts. The copper mines
in Rajasthan were also possibly exploited during Harappan times and
could, therefore, have been an important supply for the Indus
Civilization.
The sophisticated shape of the copper/bronze goblet from the Jef-
ferson tumulus suggests a high degree of craftsmanship. Although

19) P V Glob, Udgravninger pa Bahrain, Kuml 1955, pp. 178-193, Fig. 1, E.

C. L. During Caspers, The Bull's Head from Barbar Temple II, Bahrain. A Con-
tact with Early Dynastic Sumer, East and West NS Vol. 21, Nos. 3-4, 1971, pp.
217-223
20) P V Glob, Templer ved Barbar, Kuml 1954, pp. 142-153, Fig. 6; M. S.
N Rao, A bronze mirror handle from the Barbar temple, Bahrain. A further link
with the Kulli culture - South Baluchistan, Kuml 1969, pp. 218-220; E. C. L. During
Caspers, Sumer and Kulli meet at Dilmun in the Arabian Gulf, Archzvfiir Orient-
forschung Bd. XXIV, 1973, pp. 128-132.
21) Glob 1954, Fig. 7, see also P Mortensen, The Barber Temple: its chronology
and fereign relations reconsidered, Shaikha Haya Ali Al Khalifa & M. Rice Eds.,
1986, pp. 178-185

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.20 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 17:12:23 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 A COPPER-BRONZE ANIMAL IN HARAPPAN STYLE 37

neither the Wadi Samad settlements at Maysar in Oman nor any of

the Harappan sites across the Gulf have so far produced a suitable
parallel, this goblet may well have found its way to Bahrain via the
eastern trading pattern connecting the Arabian Gulf and its adjacent
waters with South Asia.
The impetus for the two prism-shaped seals, one from Maysar-1 in
the Wadi Samad, in Oman22), and the other from al-Hajjar on
Bahrain23) came along this same route. The prism shape as a sealing
device has a clear Indus Valley connection as in amply demonstrated
by the presence of prism-shaped 'sealing amulets' from both Harappa
and Moenjo-daro24). The Maysar-l prism shows locally inspired and
locally manufactured motifs; however, the one from Bahrain bears
typical Indus Valley designs, even Indus characters, but was un-
doubtedly cut locally in the Arabian Gulf, most probably in Bahrain
itself.
The fact that both prism seals are iconographically and stylistically
different from each other, can, presumably by explained to some ex-
tent chronologically, the Bahrain prism seal being the earlier. There
appears to have been a dominance of Harappan motifs in the Arabian
Gulf, which may have lasted for a considerable length of time judging
by the chronological discrepancy between the Bahrain and the Maysar-1
prism seals. On the other hand there is a great deal of local stylistic
divergence in the Gulf area. Also recently Harappan material which
accentuates this Indus Valley-Arabian Gulf connection, has been turn-
ing up in Oman 4a).

22) G Weisgerber, ".......und Kupfer in Oman"-, Der Anschnztt32. Jahrgang,

2-3, 1980, pp. 62-110, Abb. 77, Id., Archiologische und archaiometallurgische Unter-
suchungen in Oman, Allgemeineund Vergletchende Archdologze-Beltriige-Bd. 2, 1980,
pp. 67-90, Abb. 15
23) Weisgerber 1981, Abb. 54; E. C. L. During Caspers, Triangular Stamp Seals
from the Arabian Gulf and Their Indus Valley Connection, Annali dell'IstztutoUnzver-
sztarzoOrzentaledi Napoli Vol. 43, 1983, pp. 661-670.
24) During Caspers 1982, 1984.
24a) Cleuziou, 1986, p. 147

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.20 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 17:12:23 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
38 E. C. L. DURING CASPERS

This form of cultural interaction between the Gulf and the Harap-
pan Civilization can be further corroborated by the presence of a horned
animal made of copper or bronze, just 2 cms. in height (plate I, 1),
which was lying in the northern section of the main burial chamber
of the Jefferson tumulus. This tiny animal, probably a goat, stands
on a low base and has a loop-attachment soldered to one side about
midway along its body suggesting it was originally used as an orna-
ment, perhaps a pin or a brooch or was possibly sewn onto a garment.
Recently I have proposed treating this tiny masterpiece as an Harap-
pan import25) and a short survey of Harappan animal portrayals in
general and of small-scale animal representations and of existing tiny
copper-bronze animal figurines in particular, will make my point clear.
Renderings of the human form by Indus Valley craftsmen, when
these are compared to the vivid representations of animals, show con-
siderably less skill in their execution. One could say that there is an
unexplained, but sharply defined, limitation in the abilities of stonecut-
ters, potters and seal engravers alike in this respect, when comparison
is made with their undoubted command in the rendering of the various
animals. The latter display a whole gamut of artistic-aesthetic ability,
largely absent in the portrayals of humankind, which have a limited
and narrow stylistic repertoire being stiff, lifeless and unimaginative-
ly realized. They show a definite lack of anatomical understanding,
such as inaccuracy in proportions and an evident tendency towards
stylization, which may, however, be entirely accidental and a genuine
misconception of the human body.
On the other hand, there is an apparent mastery displayed in the
skilful production of the intaglios, although the repertoire itself is nar-
row and it would seem almost certain that the seal engravers worked
from ideal models set up by the workshop. Naturally enough, as with
any artistic development, wide degrees of personal ability are displayed,

25) E. C. L. During Caspers, review of H. Hiirtel Ed. SouthAsianArchaeology

1979,
Dietrich Reimer Verlag, Berlin, 1981 in: BibliothecaOrientalisVol. XXXIX, Nos.
3-4, 1982, p. 451.

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.20 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 17:12:23 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 A COPPER-BRONZE ANIMAL IN HARAPPAN STYLE 39

Plate I1,1. Copper-bronze goat from the Jefferson tumulus, Hamala North, north-west Bahrain.
Courtesy Department of Western Asiatic Antiquities, The British Museum, London. For
measurements see the text, p. 38.

Plate 1,2. Bronze goat-like animal from Moenjo-daro. Courtesy Department of Archaeology,
Pakistan. Photograph J. C. M. H. Moloney Approximate height 2 cms.

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.20 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 17:12:23 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
40 E. C. L. DURING CASPERS

ranging from outstanding competence of the master craftsman to the

cruder efforts of the less inspired but, although slight variations do ex-
ist, yet there is little true originality of concept. The vast majority of
the seals represent only one animal, shown alone, most usually in profile
and with accompanying script. The most frequently depicted creature
of the engraver's art is the so-called unicorn, which is undoubtedly
a male bovine seemingly bearing one curving horn when seen in pro-
file. It can be suggested with good reason26) that the 'unicorn' is a
watered-down version of a long-forgotten Mesopotamian concept which
would explain the fact that, despite its beautiful muscular structure,
the whole rendering of this creature can only be described as being
carved unrealistically.
This cannot be said of the other animals on the seals and master-
pieces do exist among the depictions of the Brahmani bull or zebu,
with his powerful shoulders and heavy, wrinkled dewlap and also in
the more profuse examples showing the short-horned, humpless bovine
with the head customarily lowered over an enigmatic object27). Less
frequently portrayed are the rhinoceros, with its heavy armour-plating
and small, mean eye, the well-observed tiger, beautifully drawn in all
its feline grace, and the elephant, its ponderous tread well suggested
in the walking attitude. The buffalo, weighty horns widespread giving
a curiously questing stance to the head, is rarely depicted. The antelope
with its nervous, alert eye, long-ringed neck and tapering backswept
horns is used very occasionally, though, curiously enough, it is often
incorporated in the composite themes. The scaly gharial is shown on
a few seals, but apart from this birds, fish and reptiles do not appear
to have been recorded.

26) E. C. L. During Caspers, Hindu Mythology and Harappan Religion: -

Selected Aspects, Itihas Patrika Vol. 5, No. 3, Quarterly Journal, 1985, pp. 66-73;
Id., The Indus Valley 'Unicorn' - A Near Eastern Connection (forthcoming).
27) All three of these undoubtedly wild animals, are sometimes shown with the
same manger as the bull, indicating that the provision of this does not necessarily
pertain to feeding and domestication, but may have an even more subtle magico-
religious meaning.

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.20 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 17:12:23 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 A COPPER-BRONZE ANIMAL IN HARAPPAN STYLE 41

Plate 1,3. Bronze dog with collar from Moenjo-daro, Courtesy Department of Archaeology,
Pakistan. Photograph J. C. M. H. Moloney Approximate height 2 cms.

Plate 1,4. Bronze humped bull from Moenjo-daro. Courtesy Department of Archaeology,
Pakistan. Photograph J. C. M. H. Moloney Approximate height 2.8 cms.

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.20 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 17:12:23 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
42 E. C. L. DURING CASPERS

A fair proportion of the terracotta animal representations in the round

show an equally direct and keen observation by the artists of the animal
being portrayed and, although often fairly crudely modelled, these ter-
racotta animals are in the nature of a rapid sketch, in which the most
striking characteristics have been beautifully captured. There can be
no doubt that the artists excelled in the featuring of the faces of some
of the bull figurines which were made in an open clay mould. The re-
mainder of the body was modelled by hand over a wheel-thrown pot-
tery core. Animals cast in copper or bronze occur only very occasionally,
but the few which have been discovered catch the eye by the softness
and naturalness of their contours betraying a profound understanding
and a control of the animal's anatomy.
One group of animal portraiture has, so far, received little atten-
tion from scholars in the field of Indian archaeology. Yet, in my opin-
ion, they are the most important masterpieces of the Harappan
craftsmen and artists. Not only do they incorporate in their repertoire
compositions not portrayed in any other material but they are most
astonishing in their minute dimensions, the majority measuring no
more than a couple of centimetres and in their superiority and the
mastery of expression they display. There are charmingly perceived
little chipmunks in faience made in a mould, sitting with upturned
bushy tails, eating using their agile fore-paws. An exquisitely carved
stone monkey, just over two centimetres high and originally used as
a pin-head, sits on his haunches with his tiny hands splayed out on
his knees, staring broodingly from under heavily accentuated eyebrows.
Carved from steatite and carnelian and even smaller in size measur-
ing less than two centimetres are a huddle of two or three monkeys
which must have embellished a cloth or a hairpin and most impor-
tantly, for our present study, a small group of equally tiny bronze cast
animals.
The excavation reports by Marshall28) and Mackay29) only publish

28) Sir John Marschall, Mohenjo Daro and the Indus Civilization, Delhi-Varanasi,
1931 (3 vols.), Vol. III, Pl. CXLIV, Nos. 2, 4, 8.
29) E. J H. Mackay, FurtherExcavationsat Mohenjo-daro,New Delhi, 1938 (2 vols.),

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.20 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 17:12:23 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 A COPPER-BRONZE ANIMAL IN HARAPPAN STYLE 43

nine bronzes, which because of their miniature size, can be used in

comparison with the tiny goat of the Jefferson tumulus on Bahrain.
It is nevertheless quite feasible to assume that more of them once ex-
isted not only in the main cities such as Moenjo-daro and Lothal but
also in the smaller cultural centres within the Indus Valley confines.
Despite the advanced state of corrosion of these bronze animals, it
is evident that they were carefully modelled, and like the other miniature
animals, previously discussed, they often show a great deal of realism.
The method employed in casting most of these animal figurines, was
probably the cireperdueprocess. The two finest animals, modelled with
great attention to detail are short-horned bulls, but the dogs, antelopes
or goats and zebus of this group are also masterpieces in their own
right. Needless to say, that within this limited category, there are
definite variations in various degrees of artistic competence and in the
personal taste of their makers.
Here it seems pertinent to quote verbatzmfrom Mackay's descrip-
tion of those animals, which I have selected for comparison3"):

[p. 301] Plate LXXVII. - No.1 (DK 3920). Bronze(?). Length 1.4 ins.
Antelope with very slightly curved horns, identified by some as the In-
[GazellaBennetti] an animal which frequentsopen
dian gazelle or chznkara
country and is common in India... This model was carefully cast and
finished, but corrosion has obscured some of the details. All four hooves
have disappeared. The attitude with the head slightly raised is very
natural; the animal is evidently alert. Locus: First Street (10).
Level: - 10 ft.
[p. 303] Plate LXXVII. - No. 15 (DK 4091). Bronze(?). 1.28 ins. long.
Figure of a ram in a couchant position. Though carefully made, corro-
sion has removed much of the detail. A small pit on the shoulders sug-
gests that it was intended to drill a hole to take a cord.....; if so, this
little figurewas evidentlyintendedto have been worn as an amulet. Locus:
Bl. 9, ho. IV, rm. 6 Level: - 6.8 ft.
[p. 303] P1. LXXVII. - No. 16 (DK 8455). Bronze. 0 7 in. long. Dog
with a short, powerful-lookingmuzzle and the tail tightly curled. A thick

Vols, I, pp. 283-284, 298-311, II, Pls. LXXI, No. 23, LXXIV, Nos. 18-19,
LXXVII, Nos. 1, 15, 16, LXXIX, Nos. 5-6, 18-21, LXXX, No. 5
30) See note 29

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.20 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 17:12:23 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
44 E. C. L. DURING CASPERS

collar seen round the neck. Evidently well modelled, though it has suf-
fered greatly from salt. Locus: Bl. 12, ho.I, rm. 11, Level: - 11.9 ft.
[p. 307] Plate LXXIX. - No. 5 (DK 9341). Bronze. 0.64 ins. high. Small
model ram with curled horns and short upright tail. Pierced longitudinally
to be worn as an amulet. Carefully made, but rather short in the body,
for which reason it was at first thought to be a dog. Legs made separate;
are now slightly bent. Locus: Bl. 1 (Palace), S.E. wing (I), rm. 17.
Level: - 19.3 ft.
[p. 307] Plate LXXIX. - No. 6 (DK 8194). Bronze. 0.69 ins. high. Dog
with collar round neck. Prick ears and upright tail. Short mastiff-like
muzzle. Fore-and-hind-legs cast together; but it may have been intend-
ed to separate them later by cutting. Well made, but very much corrod-
ed. Locus: Bl. 9, ho. II, rm. 9. Level: - 12.2 ft.
[p. 308] Plate LXXIX. - No. 18 (DK 6115). Bronze. 1.5 ins. high. (No.
20 is an enlarged illustration of this) well modelled animal, which, as
far as can be judged, is a solid casting. That it represents a bull and not
a bison is indicated by the carriage of the head. Rather roughly made;
but probably it was intended to trim it up afterwards, which seems never
to have been done, though corrosion may have removed the finer details.
Locus: Fore Lane, outside Bl. 10(III). Level: - 14.8 ft.
[p. 308] Plate LXXIX. - No. 21 (DK 4964). Bronze. 11 ins. long. A
very badly corroded model of a humped bull with both fore- and hind-
legs united. Again, the ears are tied to the horns. Locus: Loop Lane,
bet. Bls. 9A and 12A. Level: - 16 ft.
[p. 311] Plate LXXX. - No. 5 (DK 6593). Bronze. 0.68 ins. high. Model
antelope (or possibly ibex), minute in size. May have been worn as an
amulet, but the hole for suspension, if there was one, has been filled up
owing to corrosion. Locus: Fore Lane, bet. Bls. I (III) and 7.
Level: - 14.3 ft.
I was fortunate enough to be able to locate four of these tiny animal
bronzes in the Moenjo-daro site museum in 197631), but the fact that
they were glued onto a plastic board for display purposes, prevented
me from making a proper study of these animals, in particular of that
side of their bodies now obscured. Moreover, their excavation numbers
could not be read and it is, therefore, not certain whether Plate 1,2
was ever published and it is, in fact, this little animal (goat, ram,
gazelle?) which comes closest to the tiny goat from the Jefferson col-

31) I am much Indebted to the Netherlands Organization for the Advancement

of Pure Research for their financial support which enabled me to study and
photograph the Indus Valley collections in Pakistan in 1976 and 1977

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.20 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 17:12:23 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 A COPPER-BRONZE ANIMAL IN HARAPPAN STYLE 45

lection. Both animals have a similarly truncated body, a feature which

they share with one of the tiny dogs seen in Plate 1,3. The fact that
the animal illustrated in Plate 1,2 is not a dog but a goat-like creature
is demonstrated by the slightly pointed belly, which is also present in
the tiny goat from Bahrain.
Mackay does not mention any loop-attachment in his discussion of
the Moenjo-daro bronzes, but in two instances there is an indication
of a suspension hole. Apparently the way in which the others were us-
ed could not be ascertained. The Jefferson goat stands on a low base,
a device which is not entirely unknown in the Moenjo-daro bronzes,
since two bull-like animals have a similar crossbar below their feet.
I have left these two animals out of the present discussion, not only
because they do not provide a useful comparison for the goat from
Bahrain, but also because these two were produced in an open mould
and not made by the czreperdue process like the others.
It leaves little doubt that the tiny copper/bronze goat from the Jef-
ferson tumulus belongs to the category of miniature bronze animals
from the Indus Valley and the loop-attachment could easily have been
soldered on at a later stage, for instance on Bahrain itself. Besides,
the loop-attachment device may well have been known to and employed
by the Harappan artists, although it happens to be absent in the few
existing examples.
This occurrence of a Harappan miniature bronze animal on Bahrain,
is the first of its kind and we have already referred to the accompany-
ing pottery and copper goblets as possible imports from areas across
the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. It would, nevertheless be far
too premature to conclude for instance, that the dead man burried in
the Jefferson tumulus must have been a Harappan residing in the Gulf,
perhaps a merchant, a man from Melubha who had set up a business
on Bahrain. On the other hand, it must be remembered that Tomb
6 at Shimal, in Ras-al-Khaimah, U.A.E. has provided, besides local
Wadi Suq and Hili 8 pottery, a cubical stone weight of Indus type and
a large Harappan jar of Rangpur II type. This Tomb 6 at Shimal is
seen as that of a "foreign resident of sufficiently long standing to merit

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.20 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 17:12:23 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
46 E. C. L. DURING CASPERS

burial with the local community"32). Could then a similar story be

told of the person buried in the Jefferson tumulus at Hamala North
in north-west Bahrain?

32) B. de Cardi, Harappan finds from Tomb 6 at Shimal, Ras al-Khaimah, U.A.E.
Abstract of paper presented to the 8th International Conference of South Asian Ar-
chaeologists in Western Europe, 1-5 July 1985, Moesgird, Danmark.

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.20 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 17:12:23 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions