Koma Ceramic Funerary Figure, Based

Seated tall, with a bundle of tassel-like pendants hanging from the necklace.

This funerary figure is Koma, from Northern Ghana, West Africa, and dates to the 13th – 17th century. It is terra cotta. The Koma terra cottas take their name from the Koma Land region where they were found in burial mounds, and they are generally understood to relate to funerary practice. This figure sits upright with an open, tubular head, a small ridged eye. A collar of short pendants circles the neck, with a cluster of longer pendants hanging at the center of the chest. The hands rest on legs stretched forward. It is 4 inches wide, 5 deep and 8 high.

Dressed for an occasion, and willing to wait for it.