Koma Janiform Funerary Figure

Broad-shouldered and eye-ringed, with notched wings above a smooth, tapering body.

This Koma terra cotta janiform funerary figure is Koma, from Northern Ghana, West Africa. The word janiform describes a figure with two faces looking in opposite directions, and it takes its name from the Roman god Janus, who was shown in this way. Gray-brown body that flares out to two flat, split shoulders. The head carries long, oval eyes and a raised ridge nose, while the lower body is plain, softly shaped and slightly scuffed. It is 4.25 inches wide, 2.5 deep and 5.8 high.

Looks as if it were pulled out of the ground and decided to flap.