Koma Terra Cotta Funerary Figure, Based

A narrow point below, a grin above. Koma terra cottas turn up in burial sites.

Koma terra cottas have been found in burial sites in northern Ghana, and their range of heads and figures is thought to have been connected with honoring the dead. This funerary figure dates from the 13th to the 17th century. Nine inches, a long tapering form narrowing to a point below. At the top, the face is lively and expressive: large rounded eyes, a broad nose, a wide grinning mouth. A rope-like band crosses the brow. Small ears project at the sides.

The surface is sandy red-brown, roughened and pitted by centuries in the earth.

The centuries have not wiped off the smile.