Aristocratic Nupe men commissioned elaborately carved doors to decorate the entrances to their families’ compounds until after the mid 20th century. The Islamic symbols portrayed on this particular door proclaimed the family’s religious devotion and respectability. On the left panel, two pairs of slippers allude to the practice of removing one’s slippers before entering a mosque. Both panels exhibit a central “magic square” motif (called khatem in Arabic or hatumere in Fulani), which broadly signifies Islamic sanctity and the power of amulets that enclose Koranic scripts. Forms in the shape of Koranic prayer boards flank the “magic square” on the right panel. Additional martial, animal, and abstracted figures augment the door’s symbolic potency.