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"As the fires keep burning, for the 10 or 12 hours that a piece is being fired, I am alert and trying to keep it alive. Sculpture thus becomes a complete, total process. It is like nurturing and nourishing', like making a human being and bringing him to life."
- MEERA MUKHERJEE

A deep interest in traditional sculpting traditions led Meera Mukherjee to travel across India in the 1960s and 1970s and learn about metalworking... "As the fires keep burning, for the 10 or 12 hours that a piece is being fired, I am alert and trying to keep it alive. Sculpture thus becomes a complete, total process. It is like nurturing and nourishing', like making a human being and bringing him to life."
- MEERA MUKHERJEE

A deep interest in traditional sculpting traditions led Meera Mukherjee to travel across India in the 1960s and 1970s and learn about metalworking techniques. During this time, she apprenticed with Bastar sculptors in Madhya Pradesh, where she learnt the Dhokra method of casting--also known as cire perdue or lost wax--an ancient technique that has existed in India for nearly 4,500 years. Mukherjee eventually invented her own sculpting process, first creating her work in wax, then building it up and adding surface decoration using wax strips and rolls. The resulting effect creates the unusual finish that is characteristic of her work. Despite the toughness of the material, her cast bronze sculptures evoke the delicacy of filigree work.

Mukherjee's art conveys a deep spiritual bond to her roots, history and culture. Her sculptures often depict rural scenes of labourers, artisans and craftsman engaged in daily work, as seen in the present lot. Here, she transforms the realistic scene of a woman spinning yarn into a dignified act of human endeavour to evoke a higher meaning to our existence. "Meera's world in bronze is full of movement. The viewers' eyes do not only follow the flowing contours of the figures but also the patterns, lineatures and ornamentations animating the surfaces of her bronze sculptures... Casting into form such volatile phenomenon such as music and singing or spiritual energies, and yet render them tangible to give them the impression of constant flowing and transiency of each shape is one of Meera Mukherjee's great achievements." (Dr Clelia Segieth, Remembering Meera Mukherjee, Bernried: Buchheim Museum, 2012, p. 8)

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