Indian Door Lintel with Peacock, Horse, Griffin, and Fish

A peacock, a horse, a griffin and a fish walk into a doorway.

This door lintel comes from the Andra Pradesh and Orissa border in India, and dates to the late 18th or early 19th century. It is carved teak wood. In Indian building traditions the doorway was a charged threshold, and lintels were carved with auspicious creatures to mark and guard the entrance. Five arches on turned columns hold the scene: peacocks at each end with fanned tails, rearing beasts beside them, and a central urn flanked by a facing pair of creatures. Blue-green color lingers in the recesses. Sixty-eight inches wide and 12.5 high.

Most doors today make do with a number.