![\"An](\"https:\/\/ephemeralnewyork.wordpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/6suttonsquaredoor.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nAll of the townhouses\u2014they share a private garden with another group of homes on Sutton Place, one of which is the official residence of the secretary-general of the United Nations\u2014are architectural gems.<\/p>\n
Most were 19th century middle-class brownstones redeveloped and fancied up in the 1920s for elite New Yorkers with last names like Vanderbilt, Morgan, and Havemeyer.<\/p>\n
But 6 Sutton Square, on the south side, has something special. Behind an iron fence and framed by a Georgian-Neoclassical entryway is an elaborately carved door made of solid teak.<\/p>\n The carvings, done by an Indonesian craftsman, according to a sales document written by the current owner<\/a>\u2014set a scene. There\u2019s a regal-looking man and woman, peacocks, pigs, and mythological creatures\u2014all set against a backdrop of swirling flower stems, petals, and rosettes.<\/p>\n What story is the door telling?<\/p>\n These carvings come from a legendary Sanskrit epic called Ramayana, a story about an exiled king, Rama. In the story, Rama must save his wife, Sita, who was kidnapped by a demon.<\/p>\n After 14 years, Rama and Sita return to their kingdom, though like many ancient epics the legend ends differently depending on where its told, according to the Asia Society<\/a>, which has a more detailed story synopsis.<\/p>\n The man and the woman on the door must be Rama and Sita; the other figures and animals I\u2019m not sure. The Ramayana contains 22,000 verses<\/a>, and the choice of what to carve and why might only be answered by the craftsman.<\/p>\n The information about the door comes from the owner of 6 Sutton Square, who wrote about the backstory of the house and many of its details as part of an effort to sell the house\u2014which is apparently on the market for $20 million<\/a>.<\/p>\n The document is a love letter of sorts, and the owner points out that above the story of Rama and Sita \u201care two barongs which are supposed to protect the house.\u201d<\/p>\n A barong is a mythological panther-like creature<\/a> in Indonesian culture, per Wikipedia. See if you can spot these two faces above the peacocks in the fourth photo.<\/p>\n There\u2019s not a lot of teak in New York City, as this wood is native to South Asia. But if the gorgeous teak carvings on 6 Sutton Place looks familiar, you might be thinking of this townhouse at 7 East 10th Street<\/a>, owned by a decorator who hired Indian artisans to decorate his facade in teak.<\/p>\n Tags: 6 Sutton Square doors<\/a>, Doors that tell stories New York City<\/a>, Front door 6 Sutton Square NYC<\/a>, Ramayana Sutton Square Door<\/a>, Teak carved door Sutton Square NYC<\/a>, Teak carvings NYC houses<\/a>, Townhouses Sutton Square<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThis entry was posted on June 8, 2026 at 3:55 am and is filed under art<\/a>, Upper East Side<\/a>.\t\t\t\t\t\tYou can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0<\/a> feed.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
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