FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA.- Minerva Gallery will offer a fine selection of Tribal Art in auction Friday - July, 25th at 11 am EST. The selection includes a variety of museum quality pieces from a newly re-discovered Private collection that has not been on the market for over 15 years. The main attraction from this collection is a superb Nimba (D’mba) Baga Headdress from the Republic of Guinea. (Est $250k-$350k)

The most important of the Baga art forms is the great mask, or Nimba. It represents the mother of fertility, protector of pregnant women, and presides over all agricultural ceremonies. The dancer, wearing a full raffia costume, carries the mask on his shoulders, looking out through holes between the breasts. In use, such masks rise more than eight feet above the ground; they often weigh more than eighty pounds. Most show a standardized pattern of facial scarification.

This large, voluptuous form is perhaps most famous for a related D’mba owned by Pablo Picasso, believed to have been the formal inspiration for his sculptural and painted portrayals of his mistress Marie-Thérèse Walter. A similar example can be found in Musée Picasso, Paris, from the collection of Pablo Picasso.

The female bust resting on four straight legs, the majestic head hairstyle consists of a ridge, braids and herringbone, aquiline nose topped with a bow in the front, the small cylindrical mouth, eyes bulging , protruding ears, scars into small squares on the outline of the face, chest and neck, two eyes open between the breasts. A Beautiful dark and crusty ritual patination can be seen on the piece from it’s extensive use in ceremonies.

Additional highlights include a Senufo rhythm Pounder (Est. $10k-$20k), a Yombe Materninty figure (est. $3k-$5k), a Fang Byeri figure (Est. $7,000 - $10,000) and a very nice Fang Ngil mask from Gabon. For additional information including a link to the auction that will be held on invaluable.com and online catalog please visit minerva-gallery.com, where you can also find additional works of art ranging from Pre-columbian, Egyptian, African, Greeek and other antiquities.

Contact: Carlos Regueira 719-Minerva (719-646-3782) info@minervaancientart.com minerva-gallery.com