Indian Swami Narayan Temple Door, Framed

Two red-and-white marks on the upper panels, so nobody mistakes whose door it is.

This framed Swami Narayan temple door comes from Kerala, India, and dates to the 19th century. It is carved and painted wood. In Indian temples the doorway is often the most richly carved part of the building, a threshold marking the move from ordinary ground to sacred space. A stepped crest carries carved birds and a small central shrine above two arched upper panels, each painted with a red and white mark. Round bosses stud the cross rails, and the frame is covered in dense scrolling foliage and rosettes. It is 47.5 inches long and 96 high.

A doorway that clearly expected to be noticed on the way through.