Koma Janiform Funerary Figure, Based

Round eyes, a beak of a nose and flared shoulders like a pair of small wings.

This janiform funerary figure is Koma, from Northern Ghana, West Africa, and dates to the 13th to 17th century. It is terra cotta, mounted on a base. Two-faced heads are among the more striking Koma forms, and scholars generally treat them as part of a funerary tradition whose details are still uncertain. The conical head has ringed eyes and a short projecting nose pierced with two nostrils. Notched flanges spread out at either side like stubby wings, and the form narrows below to a rough neck. It is 8.5 inches high and 4.5 wide on its stand.

Seen from either side, it holds the same unblinking opinion.