Dogon Wood Door Lock

Two pointed uprights stand at the top like ears pricked toward a sound.

This door lock is Dogon, from Mali or Burkina Faso, West Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is carved wood. Dogon locks hold granary and house doors shut with a sliding bolt, and the uprights are often carved as figures or animal heads, the paired horns of an antelope among the favorites. Here two slender posts rise from a flat rectangular case incised with crossing lines and diamonds. An open rectangular loop finishes the bottom. The long bolt crosses behind, rounded at one end and notched at the other. It is 13 inches wide and 14 high.

Listening for anyone who should not be there.