Dhokra Bankura Horse Lost-Wax Metal Figurine

Made using the lost-wax Dhokra casting process, the same technique used to create the Dancing Girl of Mohenjo-Daro, more than 4,000 years ago. Artisans in Bastar, Chhattisgarh model the horse in wax over a clay core, pack it in clay, fire the mold, and pour molten metal in. The wax is lost; the form survives. Each piece bears the exact impression of the wax original: every mark, every decision, permanent.

The Bankura horse is one of the great recurring images of Indian folk art, a stylized, strong-necked form associated with the Sun god, made across the tribal belt of Central India for ritual and devotional use. This version is cast in the 4,000-year-old Dhokra tradition: lost-wax casting, the technique traceable to the Indus Valley Civilization, still practiced by the tribal metalworkers of Bastar, Chhattisgarh.

The horse is heavier than it looks. That is the point of Dhokra, the metal is solid, the impression precise, the surface carries the texture of the original wax model. Set it on a shelf, a console, or a mantel where the light can find it. The patina deepens with time. This is not a defect, it is the object becoming yours.

Lost-Wax Dhokra Casting · Bastar, Chhattisgarh · 4,000-Year-Old Technique · Tribal Metal Art

Care Instructions

• Dust with a dry, soft cloth.
• Do not immerse in water.
• Polish brass figurines occasionally with a brass-cleaning cloth.
• Iron figurines: apply a light coat of mineral oil to prevent rust.