Koma Terra Cotta Funerary Figure, Based

Nobody has yet explained the Koma to everyone’s satisfaction. They have not stopped trying.

This terra cotta funerary figure from northern Ghana dates to the 13th to 17th century. Koma figures are known from mounds in the region, where they appear to have been placed in connection with burial and commemoration; much about their precise meaning remains unknown. It stands five inches tall, with a crested head, wide almond eyes and a broad open mouth, a beaded collar at the neck and small hands resting at the front.

The reddish clay is pitted and worn, deeply weathered by centuries in the ground.

The silence, on the other hand, is complete.