"Male figurine or deity with goatlike beard wears a horned headdress that is broken. Almond-shaped eyes and serene mouth are distinctive of the molded masks of a similar horned, bearded deity (cat. no. 122)," writes Dr. Kenoyer (Ancient Cities, p. 224).

He adds (p. 113):

"Due to the fragile nature of the wide, spreading horns, most terracotta figurines of the deity are broken, but even these fragmentary pieces give a sense of the powerful beauty of the deity (fig. 6.21 [above]). Many examples of terracotta buffalo horns have been found with holes for attaching them to a headdress. Generally these horns are broken, but the complete horns may have been from 10 to 20 centimeters in length. Such terracotta horns may have been attached to actual headdresses worn by puppets or child performers. Full-sized headdresses may have used actual horns, as is still the practice among the Muria Gond communities in central India. 51 A unique aspect of this figurine is the goatlike beard that replaces the normal wide, spreading tiger beard. The goatlike beard may indicate a specific aspect of the deity that is correlated to a myth or cult associated with the wild goat, often depicted on seals (see fig. 6.1)."

Material: Terracotta
Dimensions: 9.3 cm height, 8.3 cm width Mohenjo-daro, DK 7508
National Museum, Karachi, NMP 50.551
Mackay 1938: 282, pl. LXXVI, 18