set of four door panels

unrecorded Nupe artist

set of four door panels, late 1800s–1975

Where object was made: Nigeria

Material/technique: wood; clay; carving

Dimensions:
Object Height/Width/Depth (Height x Width x Depth): 1) 166 x 27.5 x 7 cm
Object Height/Width/Depth (Height x Width x Depth): 65 3/8 x 10 13/16 x 2 3/4 in
Object Height/Width/Depth (Height x Width x Depth): 2) 164.5 x 24.5 x 5.5 cm
Object Height/Width/Depth (Height x Width x Depth): 64 3/4 x 9 5/8 x 2 3/16 in
Object Height/Width/Depth (Height x Width x Depth): 3) 164.5 x 23.5 x 6.5 cm
Object Height/Width/Depth (Height x Width x Depth): 64 3/4 x 9 1/4 x 2 9/16 in
Object Height/Width/Depth (Height x Width x Depth): 4) 165 x 35.5 x 5 cm
Object Height/Width/Depth (Height x Width x Depth): 64 15/16 x 14 0.9764 x 1 15/16 in

Credit line: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. H. Kenneth Palmer

Accession number: 2007.3116.01-4

On display: Kress Gallery

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Images

Label texts

Displacement

The Nupe people of Nigeria design homes that encompass a complex of earthen buildings surrounded by a wall. Entry to the complex is through a round entry hall called a katamba. Ornate, high-relief doors such as this one are usually only found in the katamba doorway, making them easily visible to anyone passing by. Doors are used to display the owner’s financial success.

Displacement

Roots and Journeys: Encountering Global Arts and Cultures

Exhibition Label: "Roots and Journeys: Encountering Global Arts and Cultures," Jul-2011, Nancy Mahaney The Nupe people of Nigeria design homes that encompass a complex of earthen buildings surrounded by a wall. Entry to the complex is through a round entry hall called a katamba. Ornate, high-relief doors such as this one are usually only found in the katamba doorway, making them easily visible to anyone passing by. Doors are used to display the owner’s financial prowess. Archive label for Palmer collection exhibit, date unknown: The Nupe of northern Nigeria, like the more well-known Hausa, were mostly Moslems. In place of the more traditional figure sculpture of the African groups to the south, they developed floral and zoomorphic motifs which exhibit influences traceable to the Mediterranean and Orient.