The Seated Companions — Dhokra Metal Sculpture

Two seated figures, side by side — elongated, unadorned, composed. Cast using Dhokra, a lost-wax technique rooted in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh and practiced across central and eastern India for over 4,500 years. The process starts with clay and khuda (a natural binding material) shaped into a core, then wrapped in warm wax strands that define the figures' posture and form. Finer details are engraved by hand before layers of red clay seal the structure. When heated, the wax melts away — literally lost to make space — and molten metal takes its place. The mold is broken once, revealing a form that cannot be repeated.

The two figures sit at 5.5 inches tall with the spare, vertical proportions that define Dhokra figurative work. There's no ornamentation, no embellishment — just the shape of two people sitting together, rendered in metal by a process older than recorded history.

5.5 × 5.5 in (approx. 14 × 14 cm) · Dhokra cast metal · Lost-wax casting · Handcrafted in India