Koma Ceramic Funerary Figure, Based

A crested head peers over a large object pressed to the mouth, held as if it were the most important thing in the world.

This funerary figure is Koma, from Northern Ghana, West Africa, and dates to the 13th to 17th century. It is terra cotta. Koma figures range from simple heads to elaborate seated figures, and are generally thought to have been placed near graves. Here a seated figure with a ribbed topknot and dotted face clasps a thick, bulbous form to its mouth with both hands. Long rounded limbs, marked with rows of dots, fold down to splayed feet on a flared pedestal. It is 11.5 inches high and 4 wide.

A sculptor who kept going until every limb had something to do.