The Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya organised a demonstration programme where artists from Bakura district, West Bengal, used traditional technology for casting idols using the lost wax technique. It is the use of bee wax that makes it possible for the craftsmen to give shape to various structures.
Using rather coarse clay, the artist makes a core roughly resembling the end product. The clay core is hardened either by drying in the sun or by mildly firing in an oven. Drawing the bees-wax into stripes and thin wires, the artist wraps them around the clay core to produce a replica that is smooth and expressive.
Then they add the decorative features and wax channels. The channels, during baking in the furnace will act as a freeway for the molten metal. The replica is coated with a thin layer of very fine wet clay. This layer is sun-dried, and further layers of clay added. The mould is
now ready.
The demonstration was held at Traditional Technology Park of Manav Sangrahalaya. On this occasion, Director, IGRMS, Arun Kumar Shrivastava, Assistant Curator Arun Kiro, programme coordinator assistant keeper Soma Kiro and visitors were present.
Under the museum series 'Exhibit of the Month' of Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya, a traditional object is displayed for a whole month. The exhibit of the month of May, 'Wangamba Chenkhong,' is on display from May 1, 2014 onwards in the indoor exhibition building , Veethi Sankul. The exhibit of the month has been inaugurated by artists from the Naga community of Nagaland.
Wangamba Chenkhong, a wooden chair of Ang (hereditary chief/headman), is one of the finest specimens that denote the pride, power, supremacy and status of a Naga chief. The primeval institution of Angship is only prevalent among the Konyaks. The Konyaks are well-recognised for their tattooed faces, as great warrior, excellent wood carvers and skilled craftsmanship. The wood carving is a living art among the Konyaks. It is associated with their hunting practices and Morung institution.
Presenting here is a wooden chair, unique in itself not only for its craftsmanship but also for the place from where it is acquired. It is collected from longwa village, Mon district, Nagaland.
longwa is one of the biggest villages that straddle an international boundary. One half of the Ang's house falls within Indian territory, where as the other half lies under the jurisdiction of Myanmar. However, the whole village is controlled by the Ang.