A Short Synopsis of the Skill Intensive Method of Lost Wax Used in Indian Brassware Dokra Craft

For those of you who are not familiar with Dokra craft, it is a kind of Indian handicraft that involves metal casting or metallurgical art form that makes use of the lost wax technique. Some of the seats of Dokra craft or Dhokra manufacturing units are scattered in the tribal dominated districts of Purulia, Bankura, Birbhum, Midnapore and Burdwan of west Bengal, the northern portions of Andhra Pradesh, parts of Jharkhand and Orissa and the Raigarh and Bastar districts of Chhattisgarh.

But there are subtle regional variations in the Dhokra art form. For e.g. the Dhokra craftsmen of Chhattisgarh use bronze, brass and bell metal to give rise to unique pieces of Dokra craft. It is only in Bastar, Chhattisgarh that you will find the artisans using the unique coiled thread technique.

The Dokra figurines manufactured in the tribal districts of Orissa sport a lot of intricate details and patterns while those manufactured in Bastar are rather stark. There are also regional variations in firing techniques, constitution of the mould, proportion of the metals in alloys and other such techniques.

You should regard these Dokra craftsmen first as artists and then as metal workers. Because they use bees wax to make these brassware figurines and not metal, it enables them to carve out beautiful, unique, creative and imaginative figurines in a variety of myriad shapes and designs - which is the main hallmark of Dokra craft/Dhokra art. The Dokra artisans are known as shilpi.

Step # 1

At first, the Dokra artisan uses very coarse clay to create a core that has a vague resemblance with the finished product. Sometimes the clay core is fired inside an oven mildly or left to dry in the sun to harden it.

Step # 2

Now the artistic quality of the figurine will be determined. The artisan will draw the bees wax into thin wires and stripes. These wires and stripes will be wrapped round the clay core by the artisan for creating a replica of the finished product. This replica will be expressive and very smooth.

After this, the wax channels and decorative features will be added. While the figurine is being baked in the furnace, the molten metal will freely flow down the freeway channels.

Herein lies the specialty of Dokra craft/Dhokra art.