Koma Terra Cotta Funerary Figure

Squat and barrel-bodied, hands clasped low and no apparent neck to speak of.

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. Compact, rounded body with a flat, open top and a pair of heavy eyebrow flaps at the head. Arms curve down the sides to meet at the lower belly. The surface is dull brown and sandy, with faint pale speckles. It is 2.25 inches wide, 2 deep and 3.75 high.

Built like a small thermos with serious thoughts.