Animal Figurines

Many of the feline figurines are depicted with collars around their necks (as with the rhinoceros). Rather than indicating that these large cats were tame, this symbol of domestication may have been used in rituals of sympathetic magic to obtain a s… >

Loosely included under the rubric of terracotta "figurines" are the terracotta masks found at some Harappan sites. One mask clearly has a feline face with an open mouth with exposed fangs, a beard, small round ears and upright bovine horns. It is sm… >

Collection of human and animal figurines from a large refuse dump in a pit in Trench 43. >

Other feline figurines with large round ears and beards may represent tigers or lions. They are often depicted either standing or lying down with their legs extended to one side. Approximate dimensions (W x H(L) x D) of the larger figurine: 3.3 x… >

The appropriation of animal attributes can be accomplished through such paraphernalia as masks/amulets and other objects that can be attached to a costume. Several large terracotta water buffalo horns with incised lines on the horns have been found … >

Terracotta figurines have long been considered toys, often without question. Other objects such as carts, wheels, and charpoi (cots) made of terracotta at a similar scale may reinforce this interpretation for at least some of the terracotta figurine… >

It has been suggested that some feline figurines have anthropomorphic facial features. While features such as "coffee bean" eyes are unusual, the facial features of many animal figurines are stylized. Such features as beards are not necessarily anth… >

Whether or not the masks/amulets and attachable water buffalo horns were used in magic or other rituals, unusual and composite animals and anthropomorphic/animal beings were clearly a part of Indus ideology. The ubiquitous "unicorn" (most commonly f… >