Koma Ceramic Funerary Figure, Based

A slim column of clay with a face that seems to be mid-sentence.

This funerary figure is Koma, from Northern Ghana, West Africa, and dates to the 13th – 17th C. It is terra cotta, mounted on a base. Koma figures have been found in great numbers in burial mounds of the region, and are usually thought to have played a part in funerary ritual, though their meaning is debated. The cylindrical body rises to a head with large ringed eyes, a pierced nose and a full, slightly open mouth, framed by a textured band at the brow. A raised ring circles the lower body. The clay is a sandy gray-brown, flecked with grit. It is 3 inches wide, 3 deep and 9.25 high.

Most expressive above the neck, and content with that.