Dokra Craft of Bengal - Discover the Folk Culture of Bengal Through Dhokra Metal Craft
Among the myriad Indian handicrafts, so famed and coveted all over the world for their unique beauty and skilled craftsmanship, special mention must be made of Dokra craft or Dhokra metal craft that can be classified under Indian brassware handicrafts.
Dokra craft of Bengal
There are groups of traveling craftsmen or nomadic artisans, belonging to socially inferior ranks, who are sporadically scattered in the various tribal districts of Andhra Pradesh, Bengal, Orissa and Chhattisgarh. These nomadic metal craftsmen were known as Dokra artists or Dhokra craftsmen and their chief identity lay in making ornamental, embellished, marvelously fashioned metal figures, figurines and furniture or jewelry like Gods, Goddesses, ritual deities, bird and animal figurines, anklets, trinkets, bracelets, necklets, paikona etc.
What does Dhokra art consist of?
This metal craft of Dokra is famed for the horses, peacocks, chariots, elephants, different types of birds like swan, owl, mynah, parrot, mouse, lion, tigers, figures, of Parvati/Durga, lord Shiva, Ganesh, Kartik, Lakshmi, Narayan, Saraswati these artisans come up with.
Some of the major items manufactured by Dokra craftsmen happen to be tinkling dancing bells for Santhals, cutlery for measuring in a variety of sizes, pancho pradeep, dhunuchi, ghunghrus, home d