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<p>‘Dokra’ art is considered as a metal figurine fashioned from non-ferrous alloys using a ‘Lost Wax Casting’ known as ‘Cire Perdue’ in French. An ancient method of making metal crafts (artifacts), Dokra art goes back nearly 4000&#xa0;years. This tribal art was done by the Dokra Damar tribes of the traditional metal smiths of Bengal, India, and in other parts of India, e.g. Odisha, Jharkhand, Telangana, Chhattisgarh. The present study attempts to understand the current scenario of the Indian metal craft heritage ‘Dokra art’ and related issues conducting a comprehensive field survey and questionnaire process followed by analytical analysis. During the field survey, authors observed that the Dokra is not only considered as a rural livelihood of a particular ancient tribal people or people belonging to a special race but also carries out the prehistoric Archaeometallurgical Indian heritage and ancient culture of India. The recent investigation was concerned with three major aspects related to the Dokra: Art, Artisans, and Artifacts. The reports and data of the present survey have shown that there are many ways to develop the ancient Dokra casting process by adopting modern technological knowledge without compromising the heritage of that art. In addition, the lifestyle of artisans might also be better than their present situation through education, basic medical support, another livelihood apart from the Dokra, etc. Presently, Dokra art is facing many difficulties like high raw materials costs, processing costs, marketing issues, lack of new designs of artifacts, etc. Hence, nowadays, the Dokra art has become a near-extinct traditional metal craft. The authors proposed modified raw materials, a newly designed oven and modified molding materials, and a new marketing strategy to overcome the metallurgical and general shorts related to the Dokra art. Therefore, the Dokra art will be a sustainable rural livelihood and also metal hands-craft industry attributed to the better rural economy. Finally, authors are promoting this art to preserve the Indian heritage.</p>

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An Analytical Investigation on Prehistoric Archaeometallurgical Metal Craft ‘Dokra’: Art, Artisan, and Artifacts

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年9月9日

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  • Sanjoy Chattoraj,
  • Rahul Samanta,
  • Sandip Kunar,
  • Guojun Ma,
  • Gurudas Mandal,
  • Varsha Mitra,
  • Shamim Haidar,
  • Arghya Majumder,
  • Arijit Sinha

摘要

‘Dokra’ art is considered as a metal figurine fashioned from non-ferrous alloys using a ‘Lost Wax Casting’ known as ‘Cire Perdue’ in French. An ancient method of making metal crafts (artifacts), Dokra art goes back nearly 4000 years. This tribal art was done by the Dokra Damar tribes of the traditional metal smiths of Bengal, India, and in other parts of India, e.g. Odisha, Jharkhand, Telangana, Chhattisgarh. The present study attempts to understand the current scenario of the Indian metal craft heritage ‘Dokra art’ and related issues conducting a comprehensive field survey and questionnaire process followed by analytical analysis. During the field survey, authors observed that the Dokra is not only considered as a rural livelihood of a particular ancient tribal people or people belonging to a special race but also carries out the prehistoric Archaeometallurgical Indian heritage and ancient culture of India. The recent investigation was concerned with three major aspects related to the Dokra: Art, Artisans, and Artifacts. The reports and data of the present survey have shown that there are many ways to develop the ancient Dokra casting process by adopting modern technological knowledge without compromising the heritage of that art. In addition, the lifestyle of artisans might also be better than their present situation through education, basic medical support, another livelihood apart from the Dokra, etc. Presently, Dokra art is facing many difficulties like high raw materials costs, processing costs, marketing issues, lack of new designs of artifacts, etc. Hence, nowadays, the Dokra art has become a near-extinct traditional metal craft. The authors proposed modified raw materials, a newly designed oven and modified molding materials, and a new marketing strategy to overcome the metallurgical and general shorts related to the Dokra art. Therefore, the Dokra art will be a sustainable rural livelihood and also metal hands-craft industry attributed to the better rural economy. Finally, authors are promoting this art to preserve the Indian heritage.