Nupe Door with Geometric Motif, Based

Two wide eyes on the front door. Visitors would have known they were noticed.

This door with a geometric motif is Nupe, from Nigeria, West Africa, and dates to the early to mid 20th century. It is carved wood, now mounted on a base. Among the Nupe, known for their woodwork and metalwork, carved doors closed the entrances of family compounds and could display a household's standing. Two large concentric circles with lens-shaped centers sit at the middle, framed by radiating grooves. Bands of scallops and ridges run across the top and bottom. A pivot post projects at the upper and lower corners. It stands 55.5 inches high and 20.5 wide.

It no longer opens onto anything. It still watches.