NEW DELHI: Now, Pakistan is going on the offensive on the cultural front, with plans to "get back from India" a bronze Mohenjodaro statuette called 'Dancing Girl'+ , a 4500-year-old artefact of which British archaeologist Mortimer Wheeler said, "There's nothing like her, I think, in the world."
The 10.5 centimetres (4.1 in) high statuette, dating around 2500 BC, was discovered in 1926 from the ancient city Mohenjodaro of the Indus Valley Civilisation in Sindh, by British archaeologist Ernest Mackay. It's housed in New Delhi's National Museum, Pakistani media reported today.
Syed Jamal Shah, the director general of Pakistan National Council of the Arts, is quoted by the Daily Times as saying the statue will be demanded under UNESCO conventions. He said that this is the first time that a request will be made about this to the Indian government and that "the purpose of seeking the return of 'Dancing Girl' "was to protect the heritage", Dunyanews reported.
"The statue, recovered in excavation from 'HR area' of Mohenjo-Daro, is suggestive of two major breaks-through, one, that the Indus artists knew metal blending and casting and perhaps other technical aspects of metallurgy, and two, that a well developed society Indus people had innovated
dance and other performing arts as modes of entertainment," says the National Museum's website.
The forward thrust of the left leg and backwards tilted right, the gesture of the hands, demeanour of the face and uplifted head, all speak of absorption in dance, perhaps one of those early styles that combined drama with dance, and dialogue with body-gestures," the website adds.
Britain's Mortimer Wheeler waxed eloquent about the girl's statue.
"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."
The 10.5 centimetres (4.1 in) high statuette, dating around 2500 BC, was discovered in 1926 from the ancient city Mohenjodaro of the Indus Valley Civilisation in Sindh, by British archaeologist Ernest Mackay. It's housed in New Delhi's National Museum, Pakistani media reported today.
Syed Jamal Shah, the director general of Pakistan National Council of the Arts, is quoted by the Daily Times as saying the statue will be demanded under UNESCO conventions. He said that this is the first time that a request will be made about this to the Indian government and that "the purpose of seeking the return of 'Dancing Girl' "was to protect the heritage", Dunyanews reported.
"The statue, recovered in excavation from 'HR area' of Mohenjo-Daro, is suggestive of two major breaks-through, one, that the Indus artists knew metal blending and casting and perhaps other technical aspects of metallurgy, and two, that a well developed society Indus people had innovated
dance and other performing arts as modes of entertainment," says the National Museum's website.
The forward thrust of the left leg and backwards tilted right, the gesture of the hands, demeanour of the face and uplifted head, all speak of absorption in dance, perhaps one of those early styles that combined drama with dance, and dialogue with body-gestures," the website adds.
Britain's Mortimer Wheeler waxed eloquent about the girl's statue.
"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."
0 Comments:
Post a Comment