Large anthropomorphic figure India, Doab Ganges/Yamuna... Lot 11

Large anthropomorphic figure India, Doab Ganges/Yamuna area, ca 1500 - 1000 BCE Copper with oxidized patina. 58 x 46 cm This large figure is structured from a copper plate depicting a highly stylized silhouette. The long legs support a short trunk from which two arms extend downwards and a half-oval head with a thick edge. The surface shows characteristic hammering marks and striations. Traces of old accidents, folds or fractures and possible restorations. Provenance : - Former French private collection - Former collection Taoufik Bendahou (Paris) - Acquired from the latter by its current owner. Anthropomorphic figures of this type, which are generally associated with the so-called "copper deposit" culture that seems to have developed throughout northern India and more particularly in the area between the courses of the two great sacred rivers, the Ganges and the Yamuna, are among the rare works of Indian art known from the first millennium BC. They fascinate art lovers by their extreme stylisation, but their meaning and function remain mysterious. They have been found, most often associated with weapons or harpoons, which has led some researchers to imagine that these figures could also have been forms of weapons. Some researchers have even envisaged that they could be deposits of weapons intended for deities, and that these anthropomorphic figures could be prototypes of vajra, the weapon of Indra. The almost general consensus today is that the majority of objects contained in the copper deposits were never intended to be used. These copper treasures are generally associated with ochre-coloured pottery (OCP), characteristic of the late Harappean (or post-urban) phase of the Indus Valley civilisation. Based on this ceramic association, researchers have successively proposed associations with Indo-Aryan migrants of the second millennium BCE, or with the Oxus civilization (Bactro-Margian archaeological complex). Asko Parpola proposed to associate these "copper treasures" with a first wave of Indo-Iranian migration in the Indian subcontinent, which would have spread further east than the later Vedic Aryans. Examples of these anthropomorphic figures are held in major public and private collections. Anthropomorphic figures of this type, which are generally associated with the so-called "copper deposit" culture that seems to have developed throughout northern India and more particularly in the area between the courses of the two great sacred rivers, the Ganges and the Yamuna, are among the rare works of Indian art known from the first millennium BC. They fascinate art lovers by their extreme stylization, but their meaning and function remain mysterious. They have been found, most often associated with weapons or harpoons, which has led some scholars to imagine that these figures could also have been forms of weapons. Some scholars have even envisaged that they could be deposits of weapons intended for deities, and that these anthropomorphic figures could be prototypes of vajra, Indra's weapon. The almost general consensus today is that the majority of objects contained in the copper deposits were never intended to be used. These copper treasures are generally associated with ochre-colored pottery (OCP), characteristic of the late Harappean (or post-urban) phase of the Indus Valley civilization. Based on this ceramic association, scholars have successively proposed associations with Indo-Aryan migrants of the second millennium BCE, or with the Oxus civilization (Bactro-Margian archaeological complex). Asko Parpola proposed to associate these "copper treasures" with a first wave of Indo-Iranian migration in the Indian subcontinent, which would have spread further east than the later Vedic Aryans. Examples of these anthropomorphic figures are preserved in major public and private collections. Bibliographical references : Paul Yule. "The Copper Hoards of Northern India" in EXPEDITION Vol 39 n°1 1997. Paul Yule. "An anthropomorphic figure from Northern India" in ART TRIBAL 1998, Musée Barbier-Mueller Geneva pp 23-32