Koma Terra Cotta Funerary Figure

Short parallel slashes for eyes. A thick, open ring for a mouth. The Koma were never shy of the abstract.

This terra cotta head, northern Ghana, 13th to 17th century, belongs to a large body of figures found at burial sites, where they are believed to have played a role in honoring the dead. A raised band crosses the forehead and continues over the crown. The neck widens into a squared base. The pale buff clay is weathered and lightly pitted. Just under seven inches tall, on a slender black mount.

A hole at the center of the mouth. Make of that what you will.