Koma Terra Cotta Funerary Figure

Flaring, curled-shoulder body with a single open spout at the top.

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. Orange-tan vessel-like form with a round opening at the top and two curled, scroll-like shoulders spreading to either side. The body narrows slightly and ends in a flat base. Dark smudges mark the surface. It is 3.25 inches wide, 3 deep and 3 high.

A little bit sculpture, a little bit pitcher, wholly itself.