Koma Ceramic Funerary Figure, Based

Heavy brows, deep-set eyes and a long muzzle of a chin, all in sun-bleached clay.

This based funerary figure is Koma, from Northern Ghana, West Africa, and dates to the 13th to 17th century. It is terra cotta. Koma faces range from almost human to frankly fantastical, and whether some represent animals, masks or ancestors is generally left open. A straight ledge of a brow shades two small, deep-set eyes. The nose broadens into a projecting mouth with flared nostrils, and the chin draws down into a long, narrow point. Small ears sit at the sides of the squared head. The clay is pale buff with pinkish patches. It is 6.75 inches high and 2.5 wide.

Somewhere between wise and mildly unimpressed.