Koma Ceramic Funerary Figure, Based

A tall cylindrical head with ringed eyes, a striped mouth and a beaded collar sits squarely on a broad chest.

This funerary figure is Koma, from Northern Ghana, West Africa, and dates to the 13th – 17th century. It is terra cotta. Koma terra cottas come from mound sites in the Koma Land region of northern Ghana, generally associated with burial. The head rises as a long open cylinder with round applied eyes and a projecting mouth of stacked ridges. A thick beaded necklace circles the neck, and the torso is pitted and abraded. It is mounted on a stand and is 4 inches wide, 3 deep and 9 high.

It has kept the same thoughtful look for several centuries now.