Minneapolis Institute of Art

Door

Swahili artist

Date

mid 19th century

Medium

Wood, iron

Culture

Swahili

Department

Arts of Global Africa

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

To own a stone mansion along East Africa’s Swahili coast meant your family was freeborn and in control of global circuits of trade and cultural exchange. The unadorned whiteness of the building’s exterior symbolized the purity of the family; the only ornamentation was the massive carved doorframe in the main entrance—a hint of the wealth and sophistication inside. An “international style” that developed in Zanzibar during the 19th century fused visual styles from mainland Africa, Gujarat, the Red Sea, and the Persian Gulf, all represented on this door. Tanzania

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