DHOKRA

About:

• Dhokra is non–ferrous metal casting using the lost-wax casting technique.
  
  
• This sort of metal casting has been used in India for over 4,000 years and is still used. 
  
  
• The oldest specimen using it is the famous dancing girl of Mohenjo-daro.
  
  
• Dhokra Damar tribes are the traditional metalsmiths of West Bengal and Odisha. Their technique of lost wax casting is named after their tribe, hence Dhokra metal casting.
  
  
• In May 2018, Dhokra craft from West Bengal was presented with the Geographical Indication (GI) tag.
  
  
• Recent changes in the craft:
  • Beeswax, which was one of the primary inputs, is not used any more, since it is far more expensive and no longer easy to procure.
    
    
  • The traditional animal figurines — horses, elephants, camels and so on — are slowly being replaced by more functional things such as paperweights, pen holders etc.