Koma Ceramic Funerary Figure, Based

One eye open, mouth round as a whistle, chest wrapped in rings like a wasp.

This funerary figure, based, is Koma, from Northern Ghana, West Africa, and dates to the 13th to 17th century. It is terra cotta. Koma figures are known chiefly from burial mounds in the Koma Land region, and their exact purpose is still debated by researchers. A domed head carries one deeply ringed eye and a small open mouth, set over a jutting chin. The swollen torso is scored with close horizontal grooves, and the surface is a warm orange clay. It rises on a slim rod from a square base, 2.25 inches wide, 2.25 deep and 8.5 high.

A face like that would quiet any room.