Koma Terra Cotta Funerary Figure

Long-nosed and flat-browed, perched on a stand like a very serious pennant.

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. Wedge-shaped head with a straight crowned rim, a sharp ridged nose and heavy brows. The narrow face tapers toward a rough, pebbly tip, and the orange surface is dry and lightly abraded. A slim metal stand holds it upright. It is 4 inches high and 1.5 in diameter.

Proof that a nose alone can carry a whole composition.