The Metal Craft Industry
Bangladesh
The main center for metal casting in
Bangladesh is in a village called Dhamrai. For many generations, this
village has produced handmade metal ware for markets throughout
Bangladesh, using techniques that are over 2,000 years old. These items
include quality statues, decanters, bowls, spoons and plates.
Over the past fifty years, many of the families in Bangladesh who have
been involved in the metal casting trade have taken on other work. With
stiff competition from inexpensive machine-made aluminum and plastic
products coming in from India and other countries in the region, the
market for handcast items has gradually dwindled away.
As a result, the tradition of making handmade cast metal objects is in
jeopardy. For example, there are only six people left in Bangladesh who
are capable of making masterpiece-quality Hindu and Buddhist images using
the lost wax method. Twenty years ago, there were over 30 craftsmen who
knew this technique.
Dhamrai is 37 kilometers from Dhaka and takes about one hour to drive
there. The house that displays most of the art is over 200 years old and
is historically very interesting.