Mexico, Gulf Coast, Classic Veracruz style (600-1100) / c. 900–1100
Ballgame Palma
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Ballgame Palma as sculpture (Mexico, Gulf Coast, Classic Veracruz style (600-1100) · c. 900–1100).
The Mesoamerican ballgame was played with a hard rubber ball that players bounced off their hips.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this sculpture as stone.
The museum's collection notes: Stone palmas—so-called today for their palm frond-like shape—are ceremonial sculptures that may replicate lightweight gear worn over the chest during the ballgame. The scene on the back of this palma vividly illustrates the tie between the ballgame and sacrifice. A bat descends from the top, clutching severed human body parts, and at the center an upright figure brandishes a blade over a reclining victim. The scene's many animal figures, including the one on the front, may belong to ballgame mythology that now is lost.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtBallgame PalmaOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.