Box Lock – Bambara – Mali. Circa 1930-50.

This anthropomorphic lock features a head resting on an angular neck.
Two holes on the trunk corresponded to the mounting pins. Patina from prolonged use - the crosspiece is missing. modern base.
It is often difficult to understand the meaning of a lock; several interpretations are possible.
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The locks are called “konbarabara” (door protuberance). Often made of Ficus wood.
They can be offered to women by their husbands, for the birth of the first boy. Installing the lock
then corresponds to the wife's accession to the social status of "major woman", that is to say mother of a male child.
Another practice consists of giving the young girl a door with its lock, when she leaves her parents' house.
parents. The key would symbolize the understanding of the two spouses. The locks were part of the woman's personal property and were transferable to heirs of the same sex (daughters and daughters-in-law).
Provenance: collection of an author on locks, Pulleys, whose name will be mentioned in the certificate of authenticity.