The Royal Odisha Peacock — Dhokra Metal Sculpture

A peacock cast in bell metal — long neck, tail feathers fanned in detailed latticework, body covered in the textured wax-strand patterns that are signatures of Dhokra. At 7 inches across and 600 grams, it has the weight and stance of a piece meant to anchor a shelf, not just sit on one.

This peacock is made using cire perdue (lost-wax casting), a tradition practiced for over 4,500 years across Odisha and central India. Each piece begins as a clay core, slowly layered with wax and hand-carved before molten bell metal — an alloy of brass, zinc, and trace elements — is poured in to replace the wax as it dissolves. The mold is broken once, leaving a form that cannot be replicated. The surface carries softened edges and subtle irregularities from a 13-stage ritual process passed down across generations.

7 × 7 in (approx. 18 × 18 cm) · 600 g · Dhokra cast bell metal · Lost-wax casting · Handcrafted in Odisha, India