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Door lock
Bamana
20th century
Object Place: Mali
Medium/Technique
wood
Dimensions
Overall: 36 x 7.3 x 6 cm (14 3/16 x 2 7/8 x 2 3/8 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Geneviève McMillan in memory of Reba Stewart
Accession Number2009.2575
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsContemporary Art, Africa and Oceania
ClassificationsArchitectural elements – Doors, jambs, lintels
The Bamana are a Mande sub-group that inhabits present-day Mali. Amongst the Bamana, door locks were carved by blacksmiths from the wood of the toro tree (Ficus congensis) and used to lock the doors of houses and granaries. The door lock is comprised of three parts: A sculpted vertical beam, a horizontal beam that slides into a cut-out in the horizontal beam, and a locking mechanism, which could be made from metal or wood. The vertical beam can take many forms and was traditionally inspired by family totemic animals. These animals possessed protective qualities and were the objects of veneration. In addition to animal figures, blacksmiths also carved ancestral figures and other human forms, some of which were highly stylized while others displayed a greater sense of realism.
ProvenanceGeneviève McMillan (b. 1922 - d. 2008), Cambridge, MA; 2008, to the Geneviève McMillan and Reba Stewart Foundation, Cambridge; 2009, gift of the Geneviève McMillan and Reba Stewart Foundation to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 17, 2009)