late 1400s
Oak with traces of polychromy
Overall: 278.9 x 104.8 x 14 cm (109 13/16 x 41 1/4 x 5 1/2 in.)
Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust 1916.2051
This elaborately carved door and frame was intended for use in a protected interior space as suggested by the delicate open tracery above and its use of polychromy. Though its original context is unknown, the door's placement may have been within either a domestic or ecclesiastical building. The inscription in Old French-Mal vit qui ne mande-is enigmatic and has been suggested to translate roughly as "He lives badly who does not ask." The source of the inscription is unclear but may have been a proverb or motto current during the time.
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