Koma Terra Cotta Funerary Figure

Long-robed and narrow-faced, with a sweeping cape and a dignified air.

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. Tall, slim body in smoky grey-brown, with a flat-topped head and sparse features. Broad shoulders flare into a cloak-like drape, and the lower body falls straight to a round base. One arm area shows a crumbly, pitted texture. It is 3 inches wide, 2 deep and 7.5 high.

Dresses like someone who has never once hurried.