Koma Terra Cotta Funerary Figure

Hunched, bulgy-eyed and hands planted on bent knees, just waiting to be asked.

This Koma terra cotta funerary figure is Koma, from Northern Ghana, West Africa. Terra cotta is simply fired earthenware, and in West Africa it has been shaped into figures and vessels for well over a thousand years. Seated, rounded body with a heavy brow, wide ringed eyes and a small open mouth. A round belly and navel bulge above big, scored hands resting on the knees. The surface is a grainy sand-brown with darker patches. It is 2.75 inches wide, 3 deep and 5 high.

Patience, apparently, comes in the form of rounded shoulders.