Koma Janiform Funerary Figure

Topped with a tall braided crown and hands clutching its belly, this one is broken at the knees.

This Koma terra cotta janiform funerary figure is Koma, from Northern Ghana, West Africa. Double-faced and multi-faced figures occur in the sculpture of several African peoples, and they are often read as expressing duality, watchfulness or the joining of two worlds. Tall, narrow head with a lined, tapered crown above a ringed neck. Rows of beads cross the chest and waist, and one hand rests at the belly. The lower body is broken off, with a cracked, repaired-looking edge. It is 6 inches wide, 5.5 deep and 13.75 high.

A grand hat, a fine belt and a missing lower half.