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Courtesy:Excerpts from Prof. Rajesh Kochhar's brochure for Nistads Dhokra Museum, New Delhi
The Dhokra metal-casting uses the lost-wax technique that was probably used by the Mohenjodaro craftsman to cast the bronze figurine of a dancing girl some 4500 years ago. It is this unbrokenness of tradition coupled with the intrinsic starkness and vitality of the art form that makes Dhokra a coveted collector's item in India and abroad for connoisseurs, scholars and laypersons alike. The lost-wax technique, called cire perdue in French, is a metallurgical art form that is at once one of the oldest and the most advanced. It has been a favourite of many modern-day sculptors, and for the last 100 years employed in dentistry and industrial manufacture. Dhokra is also eco-friendly, since craftsmen mostly use scrap metal. The Dhokra people are settled over a vast tract in the mineral rich central Indian tribal belt covering the modern regions of Orissa, Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh, and parts of Andhra Pradesh. The Dhokra motifs have been inspired by the folk culture. Bastar and Raigarh districts of Chhatisgarh create Dhokra crafts from bell metal, brass and bronze. Though Dhokra casting is used across the globe, the "coiled thread technique" is supposed to be unique to Bastar. The Bastar figurines are stark while the Orissa versions are more detailed. The proportion of the metals in the alloys, constitution of the mould, firing techniques etc vary from one region to another. A gist of the skill intensive Lost-Wax technique>>>
Dhokra craftsmen are artists first and metal workers later. It is bees-wax and not metal that permits them to give material shape to the creative images they form in their mind. Step 1: Using rather coarse clay the shilpi makes a core vaguely resembling the end product. The clay core is hardened either by drying in the sun or by mildly firing in an oven. Step 2 determines the artistic quality of the work. Drawing the bees-wax into stripes and thin wires, the artist wraps them around the clay core to produce a replica that is smooth and expressive. Then they add the decorative features and wax channels. The channels, during baking in the furnace will act as a freeway for the molten metal. Step 3. The replica is coated with a thin layer of very fine wet clay. This layer is sun dried, and further layers of clay added. The mould is now ready. The artist must now become a metal worker. A clay funnel is added for molten metal to flow inside the mould. Step 4. The mould is carefully heated so that the wax melts and is lost (hence the name lost-wax technique) leaving behind a cavity. Step 5 involves actual casting in a furnace. The cavity is filled with molten metal, and the mould left to cool. Step 6. The clay mould is broken and the artefact taken out for cleaning and polishing. A new artefact has been created out of metal scrap. The Dhokra shilpis often work with brass (copper + zinc) or bronze (copper + tin). If the tin content is high, the alloy is called bell metal. Unlike in the case of potters, where traditionally the turning wheel is reserved for men, all parts of Dhokra work can be done by either men or women. Children learn the craft through imitation and instruction. |