Koma Terra Cotta Funerary Figure, Based

Long, low, and open-mouthed. Not what you expect from a funerary figure.

Koma terra cottas are known from burial mounds in northern Ghana, where modeled figures were placed in connection with the dead. Much about their exact meaning remains unknown. This one dates between the 13th and 17th centuries. Fourteen inches long, it takes an elongated, horizontal form, with a blunt, open-mouthed head at one end and a row of short block-like projections running along its underside.

The pale, cream-colored surface is rough and encrusted from long burial. It is mounted on two rods over a long black base.

Some questions are meant to stay open.