Dhokra Art by An Eastern Masterpiece

Dhokra Art is created by using the Lost Wax Process (Cire Perdue). In India this elaborate and lengthy process of creating sculptures in metal dates back over 5000 years to the Indus Valley Civilization and not much has changed in it over the centuries. The most famous western example of a Lost Wax Process sculpture is probably Donatello's David.
The man important advantage of the lost-wax method is that it eases the casting of a sculpture with elaborate curves and great detail. There are many disadvantages – it is incredibly time consuming, requires a great degree of skill and patience, and even the very best artists lose a percentage of their attempts during the mold process. Each elaborate and time consuming mold will only produce one piece, thereby ensuring that no two sculptures will ever be exactly alike.
As in every art form that ‘An Eastern Masterpiece’ offers, the skills involved in the creative process are passed on from generation to generation and this has been the case with Dhokra for many millennia. In the medieval Chola kingdom of southern India, the height of this art was reached in magnificent life-size lost-wax bronzes. The art form lay mostly dormant for a while and the tribal artists were able to retain their skills primarily due to the fact that they produced sculptures for their own use, significant among which were figures of the Gods & Goddesses that they prayed too. For the past few decades Dhokra art has primarily existed for the tribesmen’s personal use and as a source of small souvenirs that are sold to tourists, both Indian and foreign. A few years ago a small revival began for the art form. Artists started creating larger art pieces and a select few buyers in India started collecting these treasures.
This is not a common art form even in India – the average Indian still has no knowledge of its existence. In the western world, ‘An Eastern Masterpiece’ is the first Gallery/Retailer to offer a diverse selection of the large pieces of Dhokra Art.