Between the Shovel and the Showcase: Contextualizing the Categorization of Indus Valley Seals from Artifacts to Art

Studies of Indus Valley Civilization (IVC) seals have traditionally focused on their pre-excavation contexts, emphasizing antiquarian semantics while neglecting their evolving meanings through post-excavation socio-cultural interactions. This article addresses this gap by tracing the interpretative trajectories and object itineraries of IVC seals, as evidenced in their acquisition and display in the Museums and exhibitions in British India (1920–1947), their engagement with the nationalist fervor of the Indian independence movement, their positioning in early post-Partition India, and their reinterpretation during economic liberalization. It examines how colonial, nationalist, and evolving art-historical discourses shaped their recontextualization. The study reveals that the valuation of IVC seals was influenced by art-historical trajectories of ancient artifacts like Mesopotamian art. Post-excavation narratives in museums highlight subaltern and mainstream processes of meaning-making, compelling a reconsideration of the categories imposed on artifacts. This sheds light on the agency of IVC seals in shaping contemporary discourses and identities.