Indian Wood Temple Frame

Honey-colored and understated, with a stepped arch doorway cut right through.

This carved teak temple frame is from Karnataka, South India, and dates to the late 19th or early 20th century. It is carved teak wood. Karnataka in South India has a long history of wood carving, and carvers there have produced doors, pillars, brackets and frames for temples and homes. A nearly square panel with a smooth margin and a recessed frame of narrow vertical ticks. Nested arches step inward to a tall doorway opening, and the surface is light tan with a soft sheen. It is 4.75 inches wide, 1 deep and 5.5 high.

Pale and polished, and nicely patient with its own doorway.