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Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
Door Lock
Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
© Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami. All rights reserved.

Door Lock

Artist/Maker (Mali)
Date19th to 20th century
Mediumwood and iron
DimensionsOverall: 8 3/4 x 7 1/4 x 1 3/4 in. (22.2 x 18.4 x 4.4 cm)
ClassificationsArchitectural Elements
Credit LineGift of Alan Potamkin
Terms
    Object number2007.48.49
    DescriptionThis is a characteristic Islamic type of lock used throughout North Africa and the Sudan to secure the door of a granary and shutters or doors of other buildings. It consists of a vertical element typically carved to suggest a human or animal figure, and a horizontal bar with a groove on the back into which a wooden fork-like “key” can be inserted. The prongs of the key lift iron pegs that fall into holes in the horizontal beam and secure the lock. The vertical part of the lock is mounted on the left side of the door and the horizontal beam slides into a hole in the doorjamb.
    On View
    On view
    Collections
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Dogon people
    late 19th to early 20th century
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Nat Lowell
    ca. 1900
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Littlefield, Parsons & Co.
    ca. 1860
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Bamana people
    20th century
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Teotihuacán
    ca. 250-550
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Fulani people
    collected between 1960-1973
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Artist Unknown
    ca. 1920
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Artist Unknown
    664-332 BCE
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Edouard Félicien Alexis Pépin
    not dated
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Teotihuacán
    ca. 250-550
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Baulé people
    not dated
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Batak people
    20th century