Koma Ceramic Funerary Figure, Based

A wide grin, a beard of parallel ridges, and a headband worn at a confident angle.

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 were found in burial mounds in northern Ghana, and their exact purpose remains debated, though most scholars link them to funerary or commemorative practice. The head sits atop a long tapering body. Round eyes and an open mouth with bared teeth dominate the face, above a chin of incised vertical ridges. A coiled band crowns the head. The clay is rough and reddish brown, mounted on a black metal stand. It is 2.5 inches wide and 8.5 high.

Several centuries underground, and still smiling.