Tribal Art

The closure systems of the Sudanese regions in African art
This ancient dogon door with its lock evokes by its zoomorphic iconography the rich Cosmogon Dogon. According to Dogon mythology, the first inhabitants of the Bandiagara area crossed the river on the back of a crocodile. These are in fact shown vertically on the door. When characters are present, they symbolize previous generations, mythical ancestors, but the owners of the attic also appear frequently. The door is made up of two vertical panels around a central slat. The whole thing is maintained by horinzontal elements fixed by rafters. A frog motif, another mythical animal, adorns the lock.

The motifs on the doors in Mali, apart from their decorative value, are intended to deter the intruder, whether human or animal, from entering. The locks, like the doors, are cut from woods chosen according to the function of the building in which they will be used. For each plant is attributed to special virtues.
Surface light brown dull, raw, abraded, with desication cracks.