Dhokra—also known as Dokra—is among the oldest continuously practiced metal traditions in the world, with origins tracing back over 4,000 years to the Indus Valley Civilisation. The bronze Dancing Girl of Mohenjo-daro stands as an early testament to this lost-wax casting technique, whose essence remains unchanged.
Using the cire perdue (lost-wax) process, artisans form a clay core, layer it with hand-drawn wax, and seal it in earth before heat melts the wax away and molten metal takes its place. The mold is then broken to reveal a form that cannot be repeated. Each object exists once—defined by subtle irregularities that record the hand, the fire, and the moment of its making.
Rooted in regions such as Bastar in present-day Chhattisgarh—a heavily forested state in Central India known for its rich tribal culture—and carried across central and eastern India, Dhokra has remained closely bound to daily life rather than formal ornamentation. Its figures and forms reflect rest, companionship, and continuity—gestures refined over generations.
The works in this collection are not decorative artifacts. They are living expressions of lineage—objects shaped by time, meant to be lived with rather than observed from a distance.
