Dhokra Parna Brass Leaf Tealight Holders

The Dhokra brass-casting tradition is said to stretch back more than 4,000 years, to the same wax-and-metal technique that produced the Dancing Girl of Mohenjo-Daro, now in the National Museum in Delhi. Dhokra artisans across the tribal belt of Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, and Chhattisgarh still use the lost-wax method: a wax model, a clay shell, molten metal poured in. Each leaf tealight holder begins as a hand-modeled wax form that is then destroyed in the casting process, so no two are exactly alike.

Lost-wax casting, called cire perdue in French, a technique attributed to the Harappan civilization in its Indian form, produces objects with a distinctive surface: slightly grainy, warm, carrying the texture of the original wax in the metal that replaces it. These two leaf-form tealight holders come from Dhokra artisans continuing that lineage, each holder shaped first in wax and then cast in brass through a process that cannot be reversed or repeated precisely.

Set a tealight in each and the brass picks up the flame and distributes it as warmth across its surface. Group them with other Dhokra pieces or let them stand on their own on a dining table or windowsill. The brass will oxidize slowly over time, deepening from bright to a richer amber-brown. That shift is the object settling into your home.

Lost-Wax Dhokra Casting · 4,000-Year Technique · Tribal Central India · Brass

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.