this post was submitted on 04 Oct 2025
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Traditional Art

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Dancing Girl is a prehistoric bronze sculpture made in lost-wax casting about c. 2300–1751 BC in the Indus Valley Civilisation city of Mohenjo-daro (in modern-day Pakistan), which was one of the earliest cities. The statue is 10.5 centimetres (4.1 in) tall, and depicts a nude young woman or girl with stylized ornaments, standing in a confident, naturalistic pose. Dancing Girl is highly regarded as a work of art.

In 2016, a Pakistani barrister, Javed Iqbal Jaffery, petitioned the Lahore High Court for the return of the statue, claiming that it had been "taken from Pakistan 60 years ago on the request of the National Arts Council in Delhi but never returned". According to him, the Dancing Girl was to Pakistan what Da Vinci's Mona Lisa was to Europe. However, no public request to India has been made by the Pakistani government.

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[–] SnokenKeekaGuard@lemmy.dbzer0.com 24 points 6 months ago (2 children)

In 1973, British archaeologist Mortimer Wheeler described the item as his favourite statuette:

She's about fifteen years old I should think, not more, but she stands there with bangles all the way up her arm and nothing else on. A girl perfectly, for the moment, perfectly confident of herself and the world. There's nothing like her, I think, in the world.

[–] Dionysus@leminal.space 19 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Prince Andrew would be proud.

[–] lemmyman@lemmy.world -1 points 6 months ago

Honestly reminded me of that one sketch in Epsteins birthday book by that one guy

[–] morto@piefed.social 5 points 6 months ago (1 children)

How can people guess the age of the portrayed girl just by looking at the statuette? or is there more contextual information?

[–] SnokenKeekaGuard@lemmy.dbzer0.com 14 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

I'm not sure. But there's very little information around this.

Breast size might be a factor if its by looks alone. Or the body shape more generally.

Edit.

Since the Indus valley script is undeciphered to this day. Theres no context to be had.

I presume it was a combination of poetic licence and an experts guess.

[–] fubarx@lemmy.world 21 points 6 months ago

She looks like she's tired of putting up with everyone's shit.

[–] SnokenKeekaGuard@lemmy.dbzer0.com 12 points 6 months ago
[–] tetris11@lemmy.ml 6 points 6 months ago (1 children)

It'll be cool to see bangles come back into fashion like that

[–] SnokenKeekaGuard@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 points 6 months ago (2 children)

They are still in fashion in many places. Like the origin of this sculpture, Pakistan

[–] tetris11@lemmy.ml 4 points 6 months ago (1 children)

stacked like that on one arm? I'd love to meet someone wearing it like that

[–] reversedposterior@lemmy.world 2 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Go to the YouTube channel Reactistan, which is basically villagers in Pakistan reacting to various Western things. There's a couple of ladies in that that wear the sleeve of bangles.

[–] tetris11@lemmy.ml 2 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Reactistan

oh wow you're right

[–] vritrahan@lemmy.zip 2 points 6 months ago
[–] ceiphas@feddit.org 5 points 6 months ago

Looks like popeyes girl, Olivia...

Will now mostly be posting on !visualarts@lemmy.dbzer0.com

Come join the comm ❤️

[–] SanctimoniousApe@lemmings.world -1 points 6 months ago (2 children)

She really dancing, tho? Looks a bit to me like she's about to assume the position to take a pee or dump.

Yes - I know I'm crass and ignorant. Lighten up.

[–] merde@sh.itjust.works 6 points 6 months ago (1 children)

To the American IVC specialist Jonathan Kenoyer, the reading of the figure as a dancer is "based on a colonial British perception of Indian dancers, but it more likely represents a woman carrying an offering" (which he also thinks the second figure is doing), although most sources, such as the National Museum of India, continue to see her as a dancer.

from the Wikipedia page linked by @SnokenKeekaGuard@lemmy.dbzer0.com

[–] SanctimoniousApe@lemmings.world -4 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Thanks for that (believe it or not, the effort actually is appreciated), but you do realize my comment was a joke, right? That's why I said "lighten up" - it was for those too serious to recognize it as such.

[–] merde@sh.itjust.works 2 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

i kept reading because i too can't see a dancer in that figure 🤷

but then imagine a figurine of a twerk, found a thousand years from now, without any context to explain what's happening 😀

[–] SnokenKeekaGuard@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

Probably not dancing. That's very likely just an oriental view of things. That name isn't appreciated but its stuck around in English especially.

But probably not about to take a dump either I'd say.

My theory based on nothing but vibes is that its probably a God. But very vibey this assumption

[–] SanctimoniousApe@lemmings.world -4 points 6 months ago

As i was saying... *sigh*