The Komaland people are almost completely obscure, and since the original discovery of their artefacts in 1985 very little further research has been carried out. Basic dating indicates a range of perhaps 500 years between the 13th and 18th centuries. They are known to have been very able ceramicists, and made pots, figures, heads, talismans (anthropomorphic and zoomorphic) and a variety of other items; they were also, unusually, competent metalworkers, and produced a plethora of weaponry and ornate helmets. Their society was presumably sedentary, agricultural and hierarchical, as indicated by the range of crafts available, the tumuli in which they were found, and the size of the sites.

In terms of ceramics, there is an unusually high percentage of deformed and heavily stylised figures; the significance of this remains uncertain. In the current case, an older man may be a high-status figure in a gerontocratic system (as is common in the pre-industrial world), a figure from Koma mythology, reproduced in his honour, or even a fanciful construction or experiment by a imaginative and accomplished ceramicist.

Whatever the reason for its manufacture, however, this is a rare and fascinating piece of ancient African art.