Koma Terra Cotta Funerary Figure

Crested, ringed and perched on a stand, with a banded chest like a ribbed vest.

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. Upright head with a crest of fan-like ridges on top and a squared mouth with a raised lip. The chest bulges below with closely incised horizontal bands. The surface is dull gray-brown and grainy, and a curved metal clip steadies it on a black base. It is 1.75 inches wide, 1.6 deep and 4 high.

Wearing a ribbed sweater, apparently, and wearing it with pride.