From the Bandiagara escarpment region of central Mali, this two-plank granary door retains its complete, original hand-carved wood lock, or ta-koy, centrally mounted across the plank seam with its horizontal sliding cross-bolt intact and functional in form. The lock's finial is carved as a guardian figure, an ancestor head or bird-beak motif, watching over the door it protects. The two planks are joined down the central seam with hand-forged iron staples, driven through the timber and cinched on the reverse, a period blacksmith technique rather than a later repair. Horizontal timber bracing cleats with shaped, scalloped terminals span both faces, pinned with hand-cut wood pegs. The door retains its original monolithic upper hinge lug, the carved pivot pin that mounted it within its granary frame. Wear is honest and even, consistent with age rather than damage. Together, the intact lock, iron staple joinery, and scalloped cleats represent a genuinely complete construction system, rare to find preserved together on a single piece.

Mounted on a custom black stand, the door reads as both functional artifact and sculpture. Give it space to stand alone where its hardware details can be studied up close.

*Origin: DE-COR sourced antique; Dogon or Bamana tradition; Bandiagara region, Mali, West Africa

*Era: Late 19th to early 20th century, circa 1890s-1920s (estimated)

*Material: Hand-carved two-plank hardwood panel joined with hand-forged iron staples; original sculpted wood ta-koy lock with guardian-figure finial; scalloped timber bracing cleats; original monolithic hinge lug

*Finish: Natural aged patina, unpainted

*Size: Door 24"W x 1.5"D x 59.5"H. With stand: 26"W x 12"D x 62"H

*Color: Warm brown wood tone, consistent aged patina

*Condition/Care: Light-to-moderate antique wear (honest surface wear consistent with age, no structural cracking noted; iron staples and cleats are original construction, not repairs). Dust with a soft dry cloth only.

*Requires White Glove Delivery: Yes

*Color variance disclaimer: Antique wood tones and patina vary piece to piece; color may appear slightly different due to monitor settings and natural material variation.

This antique Dogon or Bamana granary door from Mali retains a complete original construction system: a sculpted wood ta-koy lock with a guardian-figure finial, iron staple joinery, scalloped bracing cleats, and its original hinge lug. Dated to the late 19th or early 20th century, it represents a rare, fully intact example of traditional granary door engineering.

Q: Why does a door with multiple original hardware elements intact, not just the lock, carry more value than one with a lock alone?
A: Granary doors accumulated wear across every functional part over decades of daily use, the lock, the joinery, the bracing, and the hinge system, so it's common for a surviving piece to have lost some of these elements while retaining others. A door that still has its original lock, iron staple joinery, bracing cleats, and hinge lug together represents the complete engineering system as it was built, which collectors and appraisers weigh as a stronger, more complete example than a piece with only one surviving original feature.

(Requires White Glove Delivery)

**Please bear in mind that colors of products shown may vary slightly from their original color due to monitor display settings or photography studio