This 52-inch shutter door is a two-plank Senufo piece from the Korhogo region of northern Côte d'Ivoire, carved from dense hardwood with an intact upper pivot lug that shows it was built to swing on a peg rather than hung on hinges. The upper register carries three relief face masks with inward-curving horns and almond eyes, a form tied to the Poro society traditions of the region. Below that sits a central diamond field built from four converging arcs meeting at a raised boss, with faint traces of blue pigment still visible in the carved recesses. Fitted over the central field is a fully sculptural crocodile, carved in the round with cross-hatched scaling, functioning as the sliding lock bar. A lower band carries a repeating linked motif, likely paired reptile forms echoing the crocodile above. The patina is a smoke-cured golden amber deepening to dry tobacco brown. At just under two feet wide and under five feet tall, this reads as a dense, sculptural wall piece rather than a full entrance door, well suited to a hallway, a reading nook, or grouped with other small carved panels on a gallery wall.

*Origin: Senufo tradition, Korhogo/Boundiali region, northern Côte d'Ivoire
*Era: Early  20th century
*Material: Hand-carved hardwood
*Finish: Smoke-cured golden-amber to dry tobacco patina, traces of blue pigment in carved recesses
*Dimensions: 22.5"W x 1"D x 52"H
*Condition: Genuine antique wear, structurally stable, original two-plank joinery, pivot lug, and sculptural sliding lock intact

An antique Senufo shutter door from Côte d'Ivoire, two planks carved with a trio of horned face masks, a central pigmented diamond motif, and a fully sculptural crocodile sliding lock.

Q: How does a sliding crocodile lock like this one actually work, and is it still functional?
A: The crocodile is carved fully in the round rather than as a flat relief, and it's mounted to slide horizontally across the central field, dropping into a notch to bar the door shut. On a piece this age, the mechanism is usually still physically intact, as it is here, though we treat it as a sculptural and historical feature rather than a hardware element to rely on for daily use. The carving style, a reptile doubling as both guardian imagery and working lock, is a well-known device on Senufo doors from this region.

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