Koma Ceramic Funerary Figure, Based

Hands on knees, nose like a beak, and a hairstyle of considerable ambition.

This funerary figure, based, is Koma, from northern Ghana, West Africa, and dates to the 13th to 17th century. It is terra cotta. Koma figures were found in mounds across northern Ghana, and scholars generally connect them to funerary practice, though their exact role is still discussed. This one is a seated or kneeling figure with small breasts and arms that rest on the knees. The face is long and flat, with pierced eyes, a projecting nose and a ridged collar at the neck. A coiled crest rises on the head. It is mounted on a black base and stands 5 inches high.

Patient, composed, and in no rush to get up.