Grand Vestibule: The British Monarchy and the World
The Grand Vestibule at Windsor Castle reflects interaction between the monarchy and the wider world
GUINEA
Nimba (or D’mba) (Shoulder helmet mask)
c.2005RCIN 95893
A carved wooden model headdress or Nimba, of the d'mba form found among the Baga people of Guinea.
In the form of a stylised female, with four slender legs, pendulous breasts and an enlarged head with a long pointed nose and protruding chin.
Headdresses of this type were worn over the shoulders by a dancer during wedding and harvest celebrations. The heavy masks obscured the dancer's face, and were accompanied by a large raffia costume. The stylised female form represents motherhood and femininity, the pendant breasts indicating the nursing of many children.
This is a reduced size version of a Nimba mask. The figure is a mature woman but she is used in ceremonies relating to agricultural fertility rather than human fertility.
In the form of a stylised female, with four slender legs, pendulous breasts and an enlarged head with a long pointed nose and protruding chin.
Headdresses of this type were worn over the shoulders by a dancer during wedding and harvest celebrations. The heavy masks obscured the dancer's face, and were accompanied by a large raffia costume. The stylised female form represents motherhood and femininity, the pendant breasts indicating the nursing of many children.
This is a reduced size version of a Nimba mask. The figure is a mature woman but she is used in ceremonies relating to agricultural fertility rather than human fertility.
