BAGA, Guinea Coast. - Lot 127

Lot n° 127
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Estimation :
5000 - 8000 EUR
Result : NC
BAGA, Guinea Coast. - Lot 127
BAGA, Guinea Coast. Hardwood, upholstery nails, metal. Beginning in the 15th century, the Baga people, originally from Fouta Djallon, were gradually forced to leave their territories under pressure from incursions by Islamized Fulani. These displacements led them to settle along the coast of present-day Guinea in scattered communities, stretching from the Conakry region to the Rio Componi, near the border with Guinea-Bissau. Upon arriving in their new territories, they reestablished their social and religious organization around a guardian figure—an image of the nurturing mother, full of kindness and compassion, the giver of fertility and life. This imposing “Nimba” sculpture, shaped like a large female bust resting on four upright legs, is characterized by long, drooping breasts that symbolically represent this nurturing mother. The admirable composition of this shoulder mask, with its majestic scale, is enhanced by the addition of brass nails. This representation has profoundly influenced Western modernism. According to William Rubin, Picasso’s acquisition of a “Nimba” in the 1920s is said to have notably inspired his “Head of a Woman” series—specifically, the portraits of Marie-Thérèse Walter, his partner from 1927 to 1935. H. 139 cm. (damage and missing parts, restorations). Provenance: former collection of Professor Jacques LAFFONT, a member of the Class of 1949 at the École de Santé Navale in Bordeaux. Between 1949 and 1966, he spent an extended period in Africa, where he practiced medicine and taught, notably as chair of anatomy and surgical medicine at the French Faculty of Medicine in Dakar. Expert: Christian NJIENSI
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