THE LOST WAX TECHNIQUE OF DOKRA ART: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY ON BIKNA VILLAGE OF DISTRICT BANKURA, WEST BENGAL

Among the famous artistic works of Bankura District of West Bengal, Dokra (also known as Dhokra) is an age old traditional non-ferrous metal art of Indian Subcontinent. The term ‘ ‘Dokra'' generally describes a group of craftsmen, nomadic in nature who spread over the different states i.e. Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and West Bengal. Dokra is characterized by its simple and primitive figurines on folk themes, variety of beautifully decorated deities and animal structures. The evidences of Dokra non-ferrous metal crafts trace back to the Harappan Civilization almost 4600 years ago. The dancing girl of Harappan Civilization is an ideal example of Dokra non-ferrous metal casting. This paper is mainly focused on the traditional lost-wax technique (Cire perdue in French) of Dokra metal art of Bikna village of District Bankura still practiced at present. Delighted to say, Dokra art from West Bengal has gained the Geological Indication (GI) Tag in the year of 2018. The present study is qualitative in nature and based on empirical research work on Bikna village involving interviews, oral history and observations. Both primary and secondary data sources were used to accomplish the work.