Bronze image of a camel with a birds head, Kutiya Kond tribe, Orissa, India, ca. 1900.

A hollow bronze sculpture on wheels, of a camel with a bird's head, holding a fan in its right hand.

The relief on the Kond Bronzes is obtained by initally squeezing threads of heated wax through a special tube and these long threads, still warm, are applied to the clay core.

The Konds are a tribal group living in the remote hills of Orissa and are primarily dependent upon agriculture for their economic survival. They traditionally practised 'Meriah' or human sacrifice, but during the late 18th century were persuaded by British colonists that their tribal deity the Earth Goddess would accept buffaloes as substitutes for human beings. Approximately a century later, Kond religious beliefs were going through a fundamental shift towards Christianity, and various tribal Kond bronzes including the bull and peacock were discovered to represent the Earth Goddess. The bronze images are made from the lost -wax metal casting process and once used for Kond ritual and ceremony, were classified into four categories: objects associated with human sacrifice, objects to represent Kond lineage groups, objects which formed part of brides' dowries and objects which represented everyday life. These ritual objects were kept on domestic shrines in the homes of the Kutiya Konds.

Kutiya Kond tribe, Orissa, India

IM.12-1937