"Royal Door" stands about seven feet tall, carved from a single piece of wood by the Bamileke tribe of Cameroon. Across its surface run the royal animals of the grasslands, the elephant, buffalo, leopard, python, scorpion, and crocodile, with a lion at the center. In Cameroon these motifs speak of the strength, power, wisdom, and authority of the fon, the king.
A carving of this scale is a community effort among the Bamileke. One person harvests the wood, another roughs out the form, a carver refines the details, a sander smooths the surface, and a painter finishes it. That division of labor is itself part of the tradition, which places the highest value on working together.
Mount it on a wall or let it lean against one. Only one exists.
