Koma Janiform Funerary Figure, Based

Little is known about the people who made them. A great deal is known about where they turned up: ancient mound sites in northern Ghana, generally associated with burial and remembrance.

This Koma janiform terra cotta dates to between the 13th and 17th centuries. Seven and a half inches tall, it has a peaked head with prominent, raised, ring-like eyes and cup-shaped projections at either side. Below is a simple columnar body with traces of modeled arms. The reddish-brown clay carries dark patches of encrustation and the rough surface of long burial. It stands on a black display base.

A face in each direction. Very little escapes it.