Screen/door, Dogon, Mali mid-20th century
Approx. 115 x 62 cm
These doors were secured with a simple sliding door lock. They protected the entrance to each family's granary. Beings, ancestors, Kanaga masks, sun lizards, and life scenes were traditionally carved into the surface of the door, which provided it with a symbolically protected entrance by making it sacred.
The Dogon people are an ethnic group from Mali's central plateau region that extends into Burkina Faso. They arrived in the area around the 13th century CE. The majority of them live in the rocky hills, mountains, and plateaus of the Bandiagara escarpment.
Wear due to age and use. Scratches.
Provenance
Private collection Kåseholm Castle, Sweden & South Africa
