Koma Ceramic Funerary Figure, Based

A long neck, a small knowing face and a beaded collar: all the elegance a torso needs.

This funerary figure, based, is Koma, from Northern Ghana, West Africa, and dates to the 13th to 17th century. It is terra cotta. Applied pellets and rolled coils of clay, rather than carving, give Koma figures most of their features. A tall neck rises from narrow shoulders to a flattened head with round eyes, a long nose and a wide mouth framed by angled lines. A beaded collar circles the base of the neck. Below, small breasts and a pronounced navel mark the torso, and the arms end at the sides. It is 10 inches high and 3 wide.

Posture like this cannot be taught.