Koma Terra Cotta Funerary Figure

Rounded and sagging, with a lopsided head and a necklace of tiny beads.

This Koma terra cotta funerary figure is Koma, from Northern Ghana, West Africa. Funerary figures in many African traditions are generally linked with remembrance of the dead and with family ties to ancestors, though meanings differ widely from one community to the next. Soft, plump body in pale peach tan, with a tall, oval head and an open, downturned mouth. A line of fine beads circles the neck and another the waist. Short arms stick outward and one leg is bent. It is 2.75 inches wide, 2.5 deep and 4.75 high.

Slouching a little, and not remotely apologetic about it.