Ancient African Fertility Granary Door

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Description

This 50-inch door (height excludes the carved top finial) is a two-plank granary or compound shutter door most consistent with … Read more This 50-inch door (height excludes the carved top finial) is a two-plank granary or compound shutter door most consistent with the Dogon tradition of Mali or a closely related Gur-speaking group from the Burkina Faso and Ghana borderlands, the same conical-boss motif has been documented as Dogon elsewhere in this catalog, so I'm using the honest dual attribution rather than picking one without a clearer tiebreaker. The face carries four large, high-relief conical bosses arranged in a two-by-two grid, a fertility or protective motif associated with granary and compound doors across this broader Voltaic region. Construction is heavy and raw, two thick hand-adzed hardwood planks with an irregular organic perimeter, joined with hand-forged iron staples and retaining an original iron pull bracket on the reverse and a carved pivot lug at the top corner. The patina is a deep, smoke-darkened brown consistent with decades of hearth use, possibly extending into the late 19th century given the depth of wear. At 29 inches wide and 50 inches tall, it's compact enough for a smaller wall, a hallway, beside a fireplace, or grouped with other geometric or figural pieces.

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