Mexico, Gulf Coast, Classic Veracruz style (600-1100) / 600–900
Ballgame Hip Protector (Yoke)
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Ballgame Hip Protector (Yoke) as sculpture (Mexico, Gulf Coast, Classic Veracruz style (600-1100) · 600–900).
The ballgame was a team sport played on specially constructed rectangular courts and involved striking a large solid rubber ball without using your hands.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this sculpture as greenstone, pigment.
The museum's collection notes: U-shaped ballgame sculptures imitate the shape of belt-like protectors, perhaps made of wood and padding, worn to shield ballplayers from injury when they returned the solid rubber ball from their hips. This fine example embodies a major theme of the ballgame: the connection between fertility and death. It is made of greenstone, a precious material that through its color symbolizes the lush burgeoning of nature after the rainy season. The imagery, however, is menacing: a monstrous head snarls from the curve, and human skulls appear on the sides.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtBallgame Hip Protector (Yoke)Original explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.