Object Name: Door
Cultural Group: Maroon peoples
Place of Origin: Suriname
Date: Early to mid-20th century
Materials Used: Carved and painted wood
Dimensions: H: 91.0 cm, W: 72.0 cm, D: 7.0 cm (H: 35.8 in, W: 28.3 in, D: 2.8 in)
Credit line and Accession Number: Fowler Museum at UCLA. Gift of William Lloyd Davis and the Rogers Family Foundation. X81.1344

The decoration of houses in communities in what is today the country of Suriname, located in northeastern South America, seems to have begun in the second half of the nineteenth century. Carving, painting, and wood inlay were employed in a great variety of decorative techniques. In some areas whole facades were turned into massive works of art. Painted doors were most fully developed in the eastern region, and openwork or bas-relief carving was exploited in communities in the central region.

Source: Gallery wall text, Fowler in Focus – Doors in Global Perspective, 2007