Koma Stone Armband, Ghana

Mottled brown and lumpy, with a white flaw that looks like a dab of paint.

This granite armband is Koma, from Northern Ghana, West Africa. The Koma live in the hills of northern Ghana, and they are known in the region for a long tradition of making and burying objects in stone and clay. A heavy ring whose surface is veined and uneven, in glossy dark brown with lighter streaks. Several shallow scars cross the outer face, and a small pale chip shows near the right side. It is 4 inches wide, 4 deep and 0.75 high.

Plenty of character, a few honest scars, no apologies.