Koma Ceramic Funerary Figure, Based

Ringed eyes and bared teeth at the top of a long, tapering spike of clay.

This funerary figure, based, is Koma, from Northern Ghana, West Africa, and dates to between the 13th and 17th centuries. It is terra cotta. Koma figures are often noted for their stylized heads, with the face commonly treated as the focus of the sculpture. A twisted band crowns the top, over two large eyes outlined in raised rings. The mouth is open to show a row of teeth, and a pointed chin extends below it. The rest of the figure tapers into a long, narrow cone with a weathered reddish surface. It is 8.75 inches high and 2.5 wide.

A face that commits fully to the expression.