Anthropomorph with Leg Broken Off
Unknown Artist
1500–500 BCE
Medium
Copper
Dimensions
15 3/4 x 13 13/16 in. (40.0 x 35.1 cm)
Classification
Metalwork
Culture
India
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Samuel Eilenberg Collection, Bequest of Samuel Eilenberg, 1998
Accession Number
2001.433.2
Art Historical Context
This enigmatic copper anthropomorph, titled *Anthropomorph with Leg Off*, hails from ancient India and dates to between 1500 and 500 BCE—a formative period bridging the late Indus Valley Civilization and the early Vedic age. Standing at nearly 16 inches tall (15 3/4 x 13 13/16 in.), this metalwork sculpture depicts a human-like figure, its form weathered by time, including a telltale broken leg that speaks to its antiquity and survival through millennia. Crafted from copper, a prized medium in ancient South Asia for its durability and luster, the piece exemplifies early metallurgical prowess....