Wooden Chest
I bought this item at an estate sale. There was not information on where or when the original owner purchased the item. It appears hand carved out of a solid piece of wood. It appears to be quite old and has some cracks in the wood as well as the wood appearing dry in some spots. It is a heavy piece.
33" tall x 20" wide 52 pounds
Online Auction
Yes
Hi Alex,
Thank you for contacting Mearto with your appraisal inquiry.
This is a ceremonial or shrine cabinet or "spirit house" made in West Africa, by either the Dogon people of Mali or, less likely, in neighboring Burkina Faso, which had similar carving traditions.
This is hollowed out from a massive single piece of wood with a symbolic guardian spirit depicted on the roofline. The shelved interior would have held ritual objects, offerings, protective charms or other sacred household materials.
The spiraling motif on the door symbolizes the sun and life cycles, though the arched door and molded base are more sophisticated elements than you usually see and may indicate that this was made with an eye for export or the tourist trade. It is probably made of ironwood - a heavy, dense wood commonly found in West Africa - and shows shrinkage consistent with having been made in the early 20th Century.
If this were sold in an auction of African antiques, it would probably sell for between $500 and $700.
Based on the photos and information provided, and subject to examination, this is:
An antique Dogon carved ironwood reliquary cabinet
probably made for export, late 19th Century
In the form of a house with arched roof capped by a stylized figure, over a relief-carved frieze, over an arched door opening to a shelved interior, on a stepped base, on short feet.
Height: 33 inches; width: 20 inches
CONDITION: This appears to be in good condition with wear and shrinkage consistent with age.
PROVENANCE: Purchased at an estate sale
$500-700*
*represents a fair-market value for auction purposes; retail or asking price may vary.
Please let us know if you have additional items to appraise, or questions/concerns, and thank you again for using Mearto.
~ Delia
Hi Alex,
Thank you very much for the additional photos; the hinge in the photo does look a little earlier than early 20th Century so I've revised the date on this and increased the estimate a bit.
These small house-like structures could be decorated somewhat broadly and even though this was likely made for export, it was probably not mass-produced so there won't be many exactly like it...it doesn't help that the Google/Google Lens algorithm filters out images. I am familiar with a couple similar ones that aren't in published collections or digitized museum catalogs. You make the good point that this could have been commissioned and it certainly could have but without additional information, it's too hard to make an attribution to maker.
I hope this answers your questions but please let me know if you have more.
Delia
Hello. Thank you for the appraisal. I have a couple of questions. I cannot find any images online of anything similar to this piece, might that indicate that this is not something that was produced for export but maybe a commissioned work? Also, I have attached a couple of new photos, one is the hinge hardware which shows the screws and hinge which might help with determining the age. Also, I added a side profile picture which I did not include in the original set. Thank you.