Baga Monumental Nimba or Fertility Mother Shoulder Mask

The head alone has the presence of a ship's prow.

This monumental Nimba, or fertility mother shoulder mask, is Baga, from Guinea in West Africa, carved wood, 20th century. Nimba masks are generally understood to honor motherhood and abundance, carried on the shoulders of a dancer hidden beneath raffia. A long curved head juts forward on a slim neck, with a beaked nose, hatched crest and incised lines across the cheek. Below, a yoke of wood splits into two long supports. Eighty-one inches high.

Few shoulders have ever been asked to carry this much respect.