UPSC Prelims 2025 Q72: Mohenjo-daro 'Dancing Girl' Material — Explained
The famous female figurine known as 'Dancing Girl', found at Mohenjo-daro, is made of
- carnelian
- clay
- bronze
- gold
Answer: (c) bronze
Statement-wise explanation
- a: incorrect — Carnelian is a red semi-precious stone. Harappans used it mainly to make beads, often long ones drilled from end to end, and Chanhudaro and Lothal had bead-making workshops. No famous Harappan figurine is carved from carnelian, and the Dancing Girl is not one.
- b: incorrect — Clay is the trap here. Most small Harappan human figures are terracotta (baked clay), including the many 'mother goddess' figurines of women. The Dancing Girl, though, is a metal casting and not a clay model.
- c: correct — The Dancing Girl is a small bronze statuette found at Mohenjo-daro. It was made by the lost-wax (cire perdue) method: a wax model was coated in clay, the wax was melted out, and molten metal was poured into the hollow mould. It shows a slender nude girl with one hand on her hip and her other arm covered in bangles. It is now in the National Museum, New Delhi.
- d: incorrect — Harappans used gold for jewellery such as beads, ornaments and hoards. No major Harappan sculpture is made of gold, and the Dancing Girl is not.
How to eliminate
In practice you have to know the fact: the Dancing Girl is a bronze made by lost-wax casting. Basic knowledge still narrows the choice. Carnelian is a bead stone, so it is unlikely for a figurine. No famous Harappan statue is made of gold. That leaves clay and bronze, and this is where the question sets its trap, because most Harappan human figurines really are terracotta. A clue helps: the figure has thin, long limbs and an arm held away from the body. That kind of open pose is hard to make in clay and is typical of cast metal. Remember the materials as a set: Dancing Girl, bronze; Priest-King bust, steatite; mother goddess figurines, terracotta; beads, carnelian and other stones.
Know more
Harappan art: which object is made of what
UPSC often asks about Harappan objects by their material. Each famous object is linked to one material:
| Object | Site | Material / technique |
|---|---|---|
| Dancing Girl | Mohenjo-daro | Bronze, lost-wax casting |
| 'Priest-King' bust | Mohenjo-daro | Steatite (soft stone) |
| Mother goddess figurines | Many sites | Terracotta (baked clay) |
| Seals (e.g. unicorn, 'Pashupati') | Mohenjo-daro and others | Steatite |
| Beads | Chanhudaro, Lothal | Carnelian, other stones, faience, gold |
| Chariot, rhinoceros, elephant, buffalo | Daimabad (Maharashtra) | Bronze |
Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin. Harappan metalworkers also used arsenic as an alloying agent in some copper objects. They cast figures by the lost-wax method:
- Make a model in wax.
- Coat it in clay and let it dry.
- Heat it so the wax melts and drains out through a small hole.
- Pour molten metal into the hollow mould.
- Break off the clay once the metal cools.
Each mould can be used only once, so every casting is unique. The same basic method was used later for Chola bronzes and is still used in Dhokra craft in central and eastern India. Questions can link these traditions.
Why the Dancing Girl matters: It is the best-known Harappan metal sculpture. It shows a confident pose and an arm almost fully covered in bangles. It is evidence of skilled metal casting about 4,500 years ago. After Partition it went to India and is displayed in the National Museum, New Delhi.
NCERT Concepts to Revise
- Dancing Girl of Mohenjo-daro: This is the object the question asks about. The entry describes the statuette, the site where it was found, and its features.
- Lost-wax casting: Explains the casting method used for Harappan metal figures. Knowing it helps you tell cast-metal sculpture apart from modelled clay figures.
- Harappan bronze: Explains what bronze is (a copper alloy) and how Harappans used it, which helps you judge the metal option.
- Mother goddess figurines: Terracotta female figurines are the most common Harappan human figures. They are the reason the clay option is tempting.
- Harappan bead-making: Carnelian was a key Harappan bead stone. This entry shows what the stone was actually used for.
- Daimabad bronzes: Daimabad yielded other famous Harappan-era metal objects. Use it to compare figurine materials across sites.