Koma Ceramic Funerary Figure, Based

A beaded necklace, banded arms and big flat hands resting on the knees.

This funerary figure is Koma, from Northern Ghana, West Africa, and dates to the 13th – 17th century. It is terra cotta. The terra cottas of the Koma region, found in burial mounds, are generally associated with funerary practice. Here the head is a short open tube with a pierced ear and a projecting muzzle. A beaded collar with a central pendant circles the chest, and bands ring the upper arms. Large hands with incised fingers rest on the knees, and the lower body rises from a cylindrical base. It is mounted on a stand and is 3 inches wide, 4 deep and 10.5 high.

Small, sturdy and dressed in its best.