Guinea

Baga
Guinea
Art of the BAGA
BAGA- ‘NIMBA’
The permanent
collection or in the Black
Womanhood exhibition at
the Davis Museum,
Wellesley College
Headdress, 19th–20th
century
Baga peoples; Guinea
Wood; H. 46 1/2 in. (118.1
cm)
The Michael C.
Rockefeller Memorial
Collection, Bequest of
Nelson A. Rockefeller,
1979 (1979.206.17)
Map & Environmental shot
Baga is one of the smallest ethnic
groups in Guinea. Since they are
isolated from their inland neighbors
and from foreign visitors by the sea
and by the vast swamps that
surround them, they have proved
elusive to outsiders, so little was
known about the functions and
meanings of their art abroad. Yet
the Baga have created a
monumental artistic legacy that has
excited students of African art and
has had a significant impact on the
twentieth century art of the West.
Map & Environmental shot
Variations of Nimba Masks
•a raffia skirt on
the piece.
80" tall (6.67
feet or 203cm)
Variations of Nimba Masks
•Bust headdress: the
young bride (ZigirenWonde). Baga
Koba/Kakissa/Landuma,
early twentieth century.
The masquerade was
held at wakes for the
dead, at initiations, and
at harvest festivals.
Wood, pigment, metal. H.
84cm. Collection Hans
van Witteloostuijn, Delft,
The Netherlands.
Variations of Nimba Masks
women
Nimba & modern art 1
 Merlyn Evans
Verical suite in Black: Helmet
Head,1957.
Modern artists were especially attracted
to the D’mba headdress for its
exponential curves. Aquatint. H. 74.3cm.
Collection Allen Davis, Alexandria
Nimba & modern art 2
 Fred Wilson
sea of power,1991.
The play upon leg forms the two
disparate sources suggests
differing views of power. Two Baga
D’mba headdress, French-style
chair, Bible. H. 189cm.
Nimba & modern art 3
Gani odutokun, Dialogue
with Mona Lisa, 1991.
The association of the Baga
D’mba with fertility and creativity,
from picasso to the present, is
evident here.
Courtesy Leroi Coubagy, Accra,
Ghana
Context shots
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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http://www.randafricanart.com/Baga_Nimba.html
http://www.hamillgallery.com/BAGA/BagaNimbas/Ba
gaNimba4.html
Art of the Baga: A Drama of Cultural Reinvention Frederik Lamp.
http://www.tribal-explorer.com/african_tribes/baganimba.html
http://www.zyama.com/Ilya's/baga.nimba.large.nimba
1.jpg