Koma Terra Cotta Funerary Figure

Wind, rain, and some centuries. The features are gone, and what is left is the shape.

This terra cotta funerary figure was made by the Koma of Ghana between the 13th and 17th centuries. Koma figures have been found in ancient mounds in northern Ghana and are thought to have been placed in connection with burial and remembrance. Four inches tall, it has a rounded top and a body tapering to the base in a soft ovoid. Long exposure has worn the face almost away.

The sandy buff surface is pitted and textured, especially along one side. Abstraction, achieved the slow way.