Indian Wood Temple Frame

A tall carved slab with a stepped doorway and a crown of pointed arches.

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. Upright panel with a row of small pointed arches carved along the top edge. Nested rectangular frames lead into a narrow cusped opening cut through the panel, and the surface is dark brown with fine linear grain. It is 4 inches wide, 1.25 deep and 6.25 high.

A grand entrance that opens onto nothing but air.