The essence of the people of Africa has been captured in tribal art that reflects their beliefs, achievements and status. Utilizing what is found in their surroundings, rituals and ceremonies are represented and celebrate firtility and birth, rites of passage and those who have gone before them.

The Gold Door offers a vast collection of African tribal art ranging from spectacular masks and carved wooden statues from the Ivory Coast, to leather boxes, mirrors and knives from the Tuareg people of the Sahara Desert. Also represented are extraordinary carved wooden doors, statues and masks from Dogon country in Mali as well as woven grass baskets, hand-carved wooden bowls with leather accents and a variety of objects from other regions of Africa.

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Located between Eastern India and Burma, the Naga region is the origin of some of our most captivating and memorable tribal art. There are more than twenty Naga tribes all possessing their own unique characteristics and producing different varieties and forms of art. At one time, headhunting was very much a part of the Naga life. However, that practice ended around 1900.

The Nagas are handsome, friendly and simple people with striking features whose social position can be seen in the number of bone necklaces and body ornament they wear. Tribal dances belonging to specific tribes represent one of the major art forms of the region. Wearing colorful costumes and jewelry, the Nagas celebrate marriages, harvests or other festivals with dance.

The Gold Door collection of Naga tribal art includes everything from handcrafted, vibrantly colored jewelry to intricately woven basketry.

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Located off the northeastern coast of Australia, the variety and diversity of the people of Papua New Guinea is so overwhelming, the word tribal ceases to contain it. Here we have an ancient culture of people on a remote island whose lives are far removed from access to artificial materials. Instead, they use nature, living porous tissue, woods, grasses and feathers
which give warmth and vitality to their tribal art.

The Gold Door features a vast collection, mainly from the Sepik River region of Papua New Guinea. Ancestral dolls, used to help you remember the past, raped female demons to protect the women from harm and a variety of masks are represented. Kina shells, formerly used as dowry and now seen as a symbol of status are also worn around the neck. You will also find other kinds of bodily adornment, as well as many items that display the detailed carving and the use of natural materials and pigments in their magnificent work.

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