Berber Dark Thuya Wood Door

Berber Dark Thuya Wood Door decorated with piqué type stylistic decoration and animals including a stylistic giraffe (upper right of door) and horse, in the lower half the piqué type incisions resemble trees and palms. The four panels of the heavily constructed door are held together with two horizontal rustically huwn beams to the rear of the door. The door having been originally hung on one stout wooden post hinge. The original door lock lock still in place. A very good example of the domestic Berber household door.

Each having its own signature through the incised decoration from the historic Berber occupants. As modernity is encroaching on the ancient dwellings, the traditional wooden doors are being replaced, some are extremely old, having inscriptions of generations. Some with geometrics designs of protection or good fortune, others pictorials of daily life. As progress rolls forward these portals are overlooked and may become lost forever, we have reclaimed from Morocco a few examples worthy of becoming interior design features or a secret garden door.

These doors are an integral part of the culture and history of the Berbers whom settled in the Northern Sahara, the lands of Moroccan Africa. The door the main portal to the home, protecting from the harsh elements of the region. The doors decorations and symbols and meanings passed down through generations are incised into these doors, some meanings have been lost to time, some of a more modern periods have been carved over earlier etching, these over carvings offer a cultural link and display a naivety of craftsmanship which is very appealing.

The erosive climate of the desert creates over time a unique and wonderful sun-bleached surface to the wood panels. This only reinforcing the hardship of the traditional Berber and Tuareg life style of yesteryear and of more modern times still. The doors often found with inscriptions, geometric images, objects and stylistic motifs of nomadic importance. Some of the designs are so intricate they support the original owners past status or wealth in the local community.