Bronze Kondh Dhokra Tribal Peacock - 19th Century

This tribal brass cast Kondh (or Gond) peacock is an original piece dating to the 19th Century. Peacocks were important in Kondh tribal culture due to their totemic significance. They were buried at the shrine of Zakari Pennu near the post of human sacrifice. These statues are from Kandhamal in Orissa (modern-day Odisha). Kondh warriors wore peacock feathers in their hair.

This casting is made using the traditional Dokra technique. Dokra Damar tribes are the traditional metalsmiths of West Bengal. Their technique of lost wax casting is named after their tribe. The tribe can be found across India extending from Bihar to West Bengal and Orissa.

Dokra - also spelt Dhokra, is a brass or bronze casting made using the lost wax technique. The process is commonly known as cire perdue. The object to be cast is sculpted from beeswax mixed with a little oil. When finished the entire figure is coated with clay made from termite hills to create the mould. The mould is then dried and fired in an oven with cow-dung cakes. The wax melts leaving an empty clay mould in the shape to be cast. The mould is then heated and molten brass or bronze is poured into the empty clay-mould. When cool the clay mould is broken off exposing the cast bronze figure. The casting is then cleaned and finer details are carved to finish the piece.
 

Dimensions:

10 x 6 x 10 (wxdxh cms)

References: 

For a similar example see page 35 of Museums of India 'National Handicrafts & Handlooms Museum New Delhi' by Jyotindra Jain & Aarti Aggarwala.

Another example can be found at the Odisha State Tribal Museum

From Kandhamal, Orissa, India

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