Koma Terra Cotta Funerary Figure

Pale, seated and wide-eyed, hands on knees, with a spotted apron-like patch at the lap.

This Koma terra cotta funerary figure is Koma, from Northern Ghana, West Africa. Terra cotta is simply fired earthenware, and in West Africa it has been shaped into figures and vessels for well over a thousand years. Seated body in soft cream-tan with a flat-topped head, ringed eyes and a pierced, pursed mouth. Splayed hands rest on the knees, and a small panel of tiny dotted marks sits at the lap. The surface is smooth and lightly scuffed. It is 3.5 inches wide, 3.75 deep and 7.5 high.

Sits at attention, the way a very polite houseguest does.