This head was originally attached to the cylindrical body of a figure called a Mma. The figure represents a royal ancestor and is shown with the composed facial expression expected of Akan or Anyi nobles. The figures are stylized portraits of individuals with differences such as personal hairstyles and scarification patterns. On the outskirts of towns, groups of Mma figures were arranged in cemeteries, where they received offerings and invocations for the dead.
Catalogue Description:
Terracotta funerary head, mma. Three dimensional head with neck (orange, clay, coiffure in three projections at back), connecting brows and drawn eye lids, three ring element at neck.
Condition: Coiffure in fragmentary condition, native repairs.
