Koma Stone Armband, Ghana

Lying flat, this black ring shows off its marbled streaks of white.

This granite armband is Koma, from Northern Ghana, West Africa. The Koma live in the hills of northern Ghana, and they are known in the region for a long tradition of making and burying objects in stone and clay. A broad, low band seen from the side, charcoal-dark with irregular white veins and cloudy patches running across the top. The sides curve softly outward, and the surface looks smooth and slightly satiny. It is 4 inches wide, 4 deep and 0.75 high.

Like a small night sky laid on its side.