Tikamgarh bell metal craft gets spotlight as GI-recognized heritage

The Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board is highlighting Tikamgarh’s bell metal tradition, a three-century-old lost-wax casting practice rooted in Bundelkhand and now sold across domestic and export markets. The craft’s GI recognition and continued use in rituals, gifts and decorative wares underscore its cultural and economic importance.

Why it matters: - Tikamgarh’s bell metal craft is both a living livelihood and a protected heritage form with a Geographical Indication tag. - The tradition helps sustain artisan families in Bundelkhand while keeping an older metalworking practice active in contemporary markets. - Bell metal objects still play a role in rituals, marriage gifts and household use, giving the craft relevance beyond tourism.

What happened: - The Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board highlighted the bell metal craft tradition of Tikamgarh, a town in northern Madhya Pradesh’s Bundelkhand region about 85 kilometers from Chanderi. - The craft has been practiced for more than three centuries and is sustained by generations of artisans, primarily from the Swarnkar community. - The Bell Metal Ware of Datia and Tikamgarh has received a Geographical Indication tag under India’s intellectual property framework.

The details: - The craft developed under royal patronage, when Tikamgarh artisans made ammunition, weapons, cannons and court artefacts for the region’s Maharajas. - As demand changed, craftsmen expanded into cattle bells, temple bells, bullock cart fittings, ornamental anklets known as pajebs and household items. - Current products include deity and animal figurines, lamps, decorative pieces and utility items for domestic and export markets. - Tikamgarh artisans use the lost-wax casting method, one of the oldest metal-forming processes, with roots traceable to the Indus Valley Civilization. - The process starts with a wax model coated in fine mud and clay to form a mould. - The mould is fired in a furnace, traditionally fueled by coal and cow dung cakes, so the wax melts away. - Molten brass or bell metal is poured into the cavity, then the cast piece is removed after the clay shell is broken. - Final finishing includes grinding, acid cleaning and surface detailing. - A distinctive Tikamgarh technique uses a heated mixture of industrial wax, groundnut oil and binding resin during modelling. - Larger objects begin with a clay core that is then coated with the wax mixture. - Artisans also use indigenous tools to create custom surface designs and fine carvings before casting. - The Tikamgarh method differs from Betul’s Dhokra tradition, which winds thin wax strings around a clay core to create open, patterned forms. - Tikamgarh pieces tend to be solid forms with selective surface ornamentation, while Betul Dhokra is more lattice-like.

Between the lines: - The GI tag gives Tikamgarh and Datia a formal market identity, which can help distinguish the craft from similar lost-wax traditions elsewhere. - The comparison with Betul shows that Madhya Pradesh’s metalcraft heritage is technically diverse, even when the broad process is the same. - The continued use of these objects in worship and marriage customs suggests the craft survives because it remains embedded in daily social life, not just because of heritage branding.

What's next: - The Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board is documenting and promoting the bell metal craft of Tikamgarh, Datia and Betul as part of its effort to record and sustain the state’s handicraft heritage. - The craft is likely to keep moving between local demand, ritual use and broader national and international trade channels. - Madhya Pradesh’s wider craft ecosystem, including metal, textile, wood and painting traditions, remains a focus of the state’s tourism and heritage outreach.

The bottom line: - Tikamgarh’s bell metal craft is not just an artifact of royal history. It remains a functional, culturally embedded and GI-recognized tradition with an active place in today’s market.