Mexico, Yucatán, Maya (Chocholá) style (250-900) / c. 600–1000
Vessel with Ballplayer
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Vessel with Ballplayer as ceramic (Mexico, Yucatán, Maya (Chocholá) style (250-900) · c. 600–1000).
This vessel was once broken into 34 pieces before being repaired.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this ceramic as earthenware, pigment.
The museum's collection notes: Many Mesoamerican people played ball games, using their hips rather than hands and feet to keep the heavy, solid rubber ball in play. Here a Maya ballplayer, wearing a thick protector to shield his torso from injury, dives to intercept the ball, which hovers in front of his face. The scene is situated within stepped walls, probably those of a ball court.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtVessel with BallplayerOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.