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Requires Photography

Ladder

Dogon
20th century
Object Place: Mali

Medium/Technique wood
Dimensions Overall: 228 x 44 x 20 cm (89 3/4 x 17 5/16 x 7 7/8 in.)
Credit Line Gift of Geneviève McMillan in memory of Reba Stewart
Accession Number2009.2615
NOT ON VIEW
ClassificationsArchitectural elements
The Dogon ladders, carved from one tree trunk, were used to access the flat rooftops of homes and granaries. The flat roofs of typical Dogon homes served as storage and sleeping areas. Smaller versions of these utilitarian ladders were used to mark the entrance to shrines and sacred spaces.

Provenance1989, sold by Galerie Majestic, Paris, to Geneviève 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)