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Shutter with lizard and figures

Late 19th–mid-20th century
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 341
This wooden shutter was designed to adorn the aperture to a granary. Its imagery also conveys a meaningful message. A long lizard, its limbs symmetrically spread, extends across the panel, creating six small spaces where abstracted human and animal figures stand as guardians. One figure covers its face, perhaps in gesture of respect or modesty. Related representations are also depicted on Dogon stools, staffs, and wooden containers, linking all these objects through shared symbols of protection, renewal, and communal responsibility. Far more than an architectural element, this panel reflects the belief that ancestors, nature, and community work together to safeguard the harvest and uphold tradition.

Sandro Capo Chichi, Research Associate, Arts of Africa, 2025

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Shutter with lizard and figures
  • Artist: Dogon blacksmiths
  • Date: Late 19th–mid-20th century
  • Geography: Mali, Bandiagara Escarpment
  • Culture: Dogon peoples
  • Medium: Wood, iron
  • Dimensions: H. 28 1/2 × W. 18 1/2 × D. 3 1/2 in. (72.4 × 47 × 8.9 cm)
  • Classification: Wood-Architectural
  • Credit Line: Gift of Lester Wunderman, 1977
  • Object Number: 1977.394.29
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing

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