Door Knocker with Male Figure c. 19th century

Curator: Here we have Alfred George Stevens' "Door Knocker with Male Figure" housed at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It looks rather serious for a door knocker, doesn't it? Almost melancholic. Curator: The figure's pensive expression invites us to consider the role of gatekeepers, both literal and metaphorical, within systems of power and access. How might this object have functioned within a specific socio-political context? Editor: I imagine a grand, old house, secrets hidden behind the door this fellow guards. He’s seen things, you know? All sorts of comings and goings. Makes you wonder what stories he could tell. Curator: Precisely, and the figure's androgynous qualities further complicate any simplistic interpretation, challenging normative assumptions about gender and authority. Editor: It's that ambiguity that draws me in. Is he welcoming, or warning? Perhaps both. A poignant reflection on the thresholds we cross and the identities we perform.