Koma Terra Cotta Funerary Figure

Heavy brows, pierced eyes, and an opening where a word might go.

This small Koma figure from Ghana was shaped in terra cotta between the 13th and 17th centuries, in a body of work long linked to funerary customs. Many such figures were found in mounds across the Koma-Bulsa area, and their meaning is still debated.

Full, protruding lips part around a small opening, ending in a pointed chin. A long neck leads to a collar of rounded beads, then a broad, rounded torso with small breasts. Four and a half inches tall, in muted gray-tan clay.

The meaning is debated. The face is not.