LATE INDUS VALLEY BEADS
Indus Valley Culture & Mauryan bead making

The bead as zero

Zero
Is where the Real Fun starts.
There's too much counting
Everywhere else!
Hafiz

 

The beads in
my collection
are now for sale

Inquire
through bead ID
for price
 

Eye bead made of orbicular jasper. Look in the eye bead section to see the bead from another angle.
 

An almost abstract painting in green,
rose, and white colors.
Indus Valley beads were the
first to demonstrate abstract
art in the world!
 

A tubularly shaped jasper bead with
3-colored spiral motif.

The banding lines are 'composed' in a very harmonious way in this incredible bead.

A beautiful and very rare color combination of yellow and red in this unique jasper bead. It seems that red stripes and dots were the Indus peoples favorite. At least I have not seen beads with so many red colored motifs as in this collection from this Rakhigarhi Indus Valley collection.
 

A tubularly shaped agate bead with a soft rose colored motif. The eye formation in the middle is less visible.  

This stunning bead reminds me of
pictures of Saturn. Beads are frozen landscapes.

Jasper bead. A complimentary, golden angle color composition in red and green.

A beautiful and calm composition
in a spiral striped bead.

MAGIC HYBRID INDUS-MAURYAN BEADS?

The Indus civilization began to decline around 1900 BC, most likely due to a significant earthquake that redirected the course of multiple rivers that had once rendered this area one of the most fertile regions on the planet. However, the eastern and southern coastal parts of the Indus culture managed to endure for a more extended period. In India, particularly in Gujarat and Haryana, the Indus civilization continued until about 1300 BC, and in some isolated pockets such as Pirak, it likely persisted much longer. Harvard archaeologist Richard Meadow highlights the late Harappan settlement of Pirak, which endured up to the time of Alexander the Great's invasion in 325 BC. Discoveries of an Indus site in Maharashtra suggest that this remarkable civilization expanded into the Deccan plateau in its later period. It even appeared to reach Uttar Pradesh on the Gangetic plain like a fading wave. In these more eastern regions, the Indus civilization likely merged into what is termed the Classic historic period of India, beginning around 200 BC. My theory is that in these and other isolated regions in India, parts of the craftsmanship and culture of the Indus people were passed down to classical India, thereby allowing them to continue evolving.

 

In what is often referred to as the mature Harappan period, from 2600 to 1900 BC, the art of beadmaking reached its zenith. Since then, with a few exceptions, this art form has been in a gradual decline. Rakhigarhi might represent one of these exceptions. Some of the most beautiful beads, in my opinion, originate from this region, and you can see them displayed here! It's plausible that in Rakhigarhi, the art of the Indus bead masters survived beyond their own civilization for thousands of years, and reached a new peak by merging with the much later unique Mauryan stone polishing techniques. The way the beads displayed below are polished is simply sublime! In my view, they are better polished than traditional Indus Valley beads. However, I leave it to you to decide on this assertion. As Horace Beck points out in his book, "Beads from Taxila", it's not uncommon to find much older and already used beads showing significan**t wear in Buddhist relic caskets. If these beads are significantly older than the Buddhist period in India, they're most likely Indus beads. What does the use of much older Indus beads in these caskets signify? It illustrates that beads were treasured in an unbroken, continuous tradition, extending from the enigmatic Indus culture into the emerging empires of Chandragupta Maurya and his Buddhist grandson, Ashoka the Great.

 

Indeed, it's worth remembering that without Ashoka's influence, Prince Siddharta (also known as Buddha) could have remained a local spiritual leader among the many 'Buddhas' who meditated in the prosperous and highly urbanized Gangetic plain of that time. The beads displayed on this page, therefore, might not necessarily be from the mature Mauryan period, but could instead be Buddhist/Jain beads from the much later Mauryan period. Given that Haryana remained a vibrant urban area until around 100 AD, such a hypothesis could be plausible. If that were the case - and I concede this is purely speculative - these beads would incorporate two of the greatest peaks of Indian civilization: the Indus Valley and the Mauryan periods! Such a blend of cultural influences in these artifacts would serve to highlight the deep history of craftsmanship in India and the continuity of artistic traditions across different epochs and dynasties. Despite the uncertainties that surround the exact origins of these beautiful objects, their intricate designs, exquisite craftsmanship, and enduring beauty underscore the rich cultural legacy of India's past.

IV-TL  2 - 24 * 6 mm
Price: 1100 usd

Click on picture for larger image

Flat shaped multicolored variegated jasper

'Uncooked', white lenticular shaped translucent carnelian Beads

Translucent, uncooked, banded agate - white/grey