User:Johnbod/Priest-King
Stone sculpture found at Mohenjo-daro, Pakistan / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Priest-King, in Pakistan often King-Priest,[1] is a steatite sculpture found during the excavation of the ruined Bronze Age city of Mohenjo-daro in Sindh, Pakistan, in 1925–26. The sculpture is "the most famous stone sculpture" of the Indus Valley civilization ("IVC"),[2] and is dated to around 2000–1900 BCE, in Mohenjo-daro's Late Period.[3] It is now in the collection of the National Museum of Pakistan as NMP 50-852. It is widely admired, as "the sculptor combined naturalistic detail with stylized forms to create a powerful image that appears much bigger than it actually is."[4]
Priest-King | |
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Artist | unknown, prehistoric |
Year | c. 2000–1900 BCE |
Type | fired steatite |
Dimensions | 17.5 cm × 11 cm (6.9 in × 4.3 in ) |
Location | National Museum of Pakistan, Karachi |
The sculpture is incomplete, broken off at the bottom, and possibly unfinished. Originally it may have shown a full-length seated or kneeling figure.[5] As it is now, it is 17.5 centimetres (6.9 in) tall and shows a neatly bearded man with a fillet around his head, possibly all that is left of a once-elaborate hairstyle or headdress; his hair is combed back. He wears an armband, and a cloak with drilled trefoil, single circle and double circle motifs, which show traces of red. His eyes might have originally been inlaid.[6]
Though the name Priest-King is now generally used, it is seen as highly speculative, and "without foundation".[7] Ernest J. H. Mackay, the archaeologist leading the excavations at the site when the piece was found, thought it might represent a "priest". Sir John Marshall, head of the pre-Partition Archaeological Survey of India ("ASI") at the time, regarded it as possibly a "king-priest", but it appears to have been his successor, Sir Mortimer Wheeler, who was the first to use Priest-King.[8] An alternative designation for this and a few other IVC male figure sculptures is that they "are commemorative figures of clan leaders or ancestral figures".[4]
A replica is normally displayed at the National Museum of Pakistan, while the original is kept secure. Mr Bukhari, the director of the museum explained in 2015 "It’s a national symbol. We can’t take risks with it".[9] The Urdu language title used by the museum is (with the English "King-Priest") is not an exact translation, but حاکم اعلی (hakim aala), a well-known expression in Urdu-Persian-Arabic meaning a sovereign or bishop (who is entitled to sit in a chair of state on ceremonial occasions).