Koma Janiform Funerary Figure

Pointy cap, ringed eyes and a rust-red face like a very serious mushroom.

This Koma terra cotta janiform funerary figure is Koma, from Northern Ghana, West Africa. The word janiform describes a figure with two faces looking in opposite directions, and it takes its name from the Roman god Janus, who was shown in this way. Tapering, conical head crowned with a ridge of rope-like coils above deeply ringed eyes. The face flares sideways into winged cheeks and sits on a short stem with a dark break at the bottom. Orange-red color mottles the surface. It is 4.75 inches wide, 3.4 deep and 7 high.

Looks like a mushroom that went to art school.