Koma Terra Cotta Funerary Figure, Based

Seven inches of sandy clay, and two eyes made of coiled rolls.

Koma figures first drew wide notice when they were found in burial mounds in northern Ghana, and they remain closely associated with funerary practice. This terra cotta figure, shaped by Koma artisans between the 13th and 17th centuries, is a columnar head on a long, rounded body. The nose is broad and flat, the lips thick and stacked beneath.

The surface is a light brown, worn, with small losses at the top.

It has the patience of something that was buried and did not mind.