Bell metal craft

Bell metal craft in India has always attracted the art lovers with their breathtaking designs & beautifully captured the lost patterns. Bell metal is an alloy and has been used for carving artistic products since time immemorial. The metal resembles a lot with bronze in many ways and are molded artistically to produce distinguished art work bringing forward the ethereal beauty & sophistication of the creatively rich tribal art.
The origin of this craft can be traced to Kerala, “God's own country”. However this craft is also popular in Bihar, Orissa, West Bengal & Assam. Bell metal craft is applied extensively for producing items meant for both utility & aesthetic purposes. The metal is extensively used for shaping tribal deities. Apart from this the metal is transformed into appealing designs to other vital stuffs such as ornaments, utensils, home furnishing materials easily shaped in unimaginable shapes & sizes.

Raw Materials
Bell Metal alloy consists of 77% copper and 23% tin. For creating bell metal handcrafted items, the basic raw materials required are Charcoal, Lac, Clay, Jute fibers, Rice bran, Mustard oil and lac.

Process of Making Bell Metal Craft
Bell metal crafts are manufactured using ancient method popularly called as cire-procedure process or "lost wax", process which utilizes the use of fuel, brass, wood, wax, and clay.
The process involves the shaping of the into certain figures & thin wax threads are laid. Either hammer beating on an ergot or steel metal while heating or pouring the molten metal into clay for ordinary ware are two of the procedures applied generally for shaping of an object. Beating makes the bell metal article more durable whereas further heating & subsequent cold water dipping of the object finally yields the finest bell metal article. The turning process which lightens the blackness of the object post heating includes the vital role of a string done on the lathe. The gum is used to glue the object to the outer end of the lathe which, as it rotates, exposes the object to be lightened to the constant application of the chisel. Unwanted bulk is removed whereas the article is smoothened through brushing, painting & polishing. Through this procedure, every bell metal artifact has to undergo the daunting task to deliver the finest art piece.

Bell Metal Artifacts
Bell metal artifacts are of different nature. Figurines & abstract images mostly figure in these lists. Bell metal artifacts are produced taking maximum 4-5 days of production mostly indulged in producing household utensils, idols, jewelery and decorative pieces with religious motifs. Bellmetal artifact like Kasargod has the global recognition. Some of the artefacts of Bellmetal that are widely demanded worldwide are:

• Lamps
  





• Lamp Shades
  





• Bells
  





• Musical Instruments
  





• Bottle Openers
  





• Boxes
  





• Tribal figurines
  





• Lanterns
  





• Tribal Animals
  





• Flower Basket
  





• Photo frames
  





• Paper Weight
  





• Pen Stand
  





• Masks