Dogon Wood Door Lock

The top ends in a slim head with two round eyes, stretching to see over the door.

This door lock is Dogon, from Mali or Burkina Faso, West Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is carved wood. Among the Dogon, locks of this kind secure granaries and houses, and their carved tops often bear figures or animal forms. Here a long tapering head with paired circular eyes rises above a small checkered block. The body is a slender spindle, crosshatched near the top. A wide bolt passes through, ending in a broad notched tab at one side and a tapering tongue at the other. It is 16.75 inches wide and 18 high.

Alert, attentive, and not letting anyone in uninvited.