Baga and Buluñits
Great Mother Headdress (D’mba)
Baga (Buluñits linguistic group), Late 19th-early-20th century
Scroll
Great Mother Headdress (D’mba)
Baga (Buluñits linguistic group), Late 19th-early-20th century
Physical Qualities
Wood, copper alloy tacks, iron tacks, 48 5/8 x 13 3/8 x 28 3/8 in. (123.5 x 34 x 72 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Alan Wurtzburger
Object Number
1957.97
D’mba represents a woman at the height of her power. She is confident and beautiful, elderly and a mother. Her bold gaze, intricate hairstyle, and flattened breasts speak to these qualities. Neither spirit nor deity, she is a symbol of community identity, a sculptural ideal created to honor women, inspire girls, and reflect the belief that Baga culture was forged and sustained by mothers.
Here, D’mba appears as she would have during the community celebrations in which she danced. However, the raffia fiber skirt and cotton shawl are not original. BMA conservators fabricated these garments for this exhibition.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by gift, 1957; Alan Wurtzburger, Baltimore, MD by purchase; J.J. Klejmann
"Social Rite and Personal Delight: African Art from Baltimore Collections," 17 June-3 August, 1975, Cat. 23, BMA.
"Art of the Baga: A Drama of Cultural Reinvention," Jan 29 - Apr 13, 1997, BMA, Frederick Lamp.
"Meditations on African Art: Light," Dec 17, 2006 - Apr 1, 2007, BMA, Karen Milbourne. .
African Reinstallation, "Public Art," April 2015, Wurtzburger Galleries, BMA, Kathryn Gunsch.
"Art of the Baga: A Drama of Cultural Reinvention," Jan 29 - Apr 13, 1997, BMA, Frederick Lamp.
"Meditations on African Art: Light," Dec 17, 2006 - Apr 1, 2007, BMA, Karen Milbourne. .
African Reinstallation, "Public Art," April 2015, Wurtzburger Galleries, BMA, Kathryn Gunsch.
Scholarly Publications, Articles, and Catalogues:
BMA, 'Wurtzburger Collection of African Sculpture', 1958 (reprint), #10, ill. p. 18
Frederick Lamp, 'African Art at The Baltimore Museum of Art,' 'African Arts,' Nov. 1983, vol. XVII, no. 1, ill. cover.
Frederick Lamp, "Art of the Baga: A Drama of Cultural Reinvention." New York: Prestel, 1996. Pg. 40, fig. 24.
Cameron, Elisabeth. "Men Portraying Women: Representations in African Masks." African Arts 31.2 (Special Issue Spring 1998): 72-79, 94, ill. p. 74.
Frederick John Lamp, "See the Music Hear the Dance: Rethinking African Art at the Baltimore Museum of Art." New York: Prestel, 2003, p.223, ill
Siegel, Katy. "Odyssey: Jack Whitten Sculpture, 1963-2017." New York: Gregory R. Miller & Co., 2018, p. 43, ill.
Press Coverage:
'Object of the Week,' Sunday Sun, 3/16/58, Mag. (Brown) Sec., ill.
'Curator seeks feelings beneath African art,' 'The Sun,' Baltimore, Sunday, Mar. 7, 1982, D7, ill.
Alice Steinbach, 'Those who live with Art choose Their Favorites,' 'The Sun,'
Baltimore, Sun Magazine, Oct. 9, 1983, P. 14, ill. pp. 4 & 14.
'Museum Tours,' 'Baltimore Magazine,' Mar. 1985, p. 133.
McNatt, Glen. "Baltimore's Greatest Hits." The Sun. Dec. 21, 1997: Section E, ill. p. 2E.
BMA Publications:
"BMA News," February 1958, p. 1, ill. p. 3.
"Museletter," BMA, Fall 1982, vol. II, no. 4, ill.
"BMA Today," May-June 2001, ill. p. 16.
"The Baltimore Museum of Art: Strategic Plan." BMA, 2003, ill.
"BMA Today," January - February 2004, p.9, illus.
African Spirit Series [brochure], BMA, 2004-2005.
'Winter Highlights,' "BMA Today," Winter 2008-2009, pp. 2-3, 7, ill. p. 3 and p. 7.
'Habari Gani Baltimore?!,' "BMA Today," Fall-Winter 2009, p. 19, ill.
Baltimore Museum of Art. "The Baltimore Museum of Art: Celebrating a Museum." Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 2014.
"A Long View of History," in "BMA Today," Fal 2022, p.18
On View: Wurtzburger, Gallery
