Translated symbols. Indus Reminiscences in a carved Chlorite Artefact of the Halil Rud Civilization

Massimo Vidale, Dennys Frenez,

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Abstract

The paper presents an exceptional artefact of the Halil Rud or Marhashi Civilization, a stone plaque (apparently made of chlorite) carefully carved with figures originally inlaid with semiprecious materials. This sculpture is the result of a unique process of selection and transformation of some specific motifs of the Indus Civilization. The iconography includes a standing female zebu attacked on the hump by a beast of prey, while its calf suckles from below. In front of the animals stands a large pedestalled cup. The general scene, including the female zebu and the pedestalled cup, is a literal citation of the basic compositional model of the famous unicorn represented along with the so-called ritual filter on the steatite stamp seals of the Indus Civilization. On the other hand, it shows an impressive series of inversions respect to the Indus prototype, possibly due to the ‘translation’ of the original system of values by the means of local symbols.