Koma Terra Cotta Funerary Figure

One arm clutches the opposite shoulder in a very self-possessed hug.

This Koma terra cotta funerary figure is Koma, from Northern Ghana, West Africa. Hand-modeled from fired clay, Koma figures often show stylized faces, bodies and ornaments, and their surfaces record the pinching, coiling and incising used by the potters. Long, slender body with a flat-topped head, ringed eyes and a slim, tilted neck. One arm crosses to grip the opposite shoulder while the other hand rests on the knee. The surface is a sandy brown with darker, patchy areas. It is 2.25 inches wide, 2.25 deep and 5.75 high.

A figure who has plainly decided to hold itself together.