Koma Male Funerary Figure

Narrow figure with a stamped face and a slightly lopsided stance.

This male terracotta funerary figure is Koma, from Northern Ghana, West Africa. It is terra cotta. Koma terracotta sculptures from northern Ghana depict people and animals in modeled clay, and scholars generally link them to burial practice or the remembrance of ancestors. Tall tapering form with a rectangular head bearing incised eyes and mouth marks, a necklace-like band of impressed bumps, and small arms that curl against the body. The surface is rough, reddish gray and flaky. It is 2.25 inches wide, 2.5 deep and 5.5 high.

Upright, solemn and a little crooked, which suits it well.