Koma Ceramic Funerary Figure, Based

Big round eyes, a pinched little mouth and a body that comes to a sharp point.

This based funerary figure is Koma, from Northern Ghana, West Africa, and dates to between the 13th and 17th centuries. It is terra cotta. Many Koma heads end in a pointed or tapering base, a form some researchers believe allowed them to be set upright in the ground or in a mound. The eyes here are large rings of clay with raised centers, set close beside a short, strong nose. The mouth is small and pushed forward. Below, the whole form narrows into a long cone of pinkish orange clay. It is 8.75 inches high and 2.5 wide.

Pointed in every sense, and politely so.