COLLECTION NAME:
The AMICA Library
Record
AMICA ID:
CMA_.1973.3
AMICA Library Year:
2000
Object Type:
Sculpture
Creator Nationality:
North American; Central American; Mexican
Creator Name-CRT:
Mexico, Classic Veracruz Style
Title:
Ballgame Palma
Title Type:
Primary
View:
Full View
Creation Date:
c. 600-900
Creation Start Date:
600
Creation End Date:
900
Materials and Techniques:
stone
Style or Period:
Mexico, Classic Veracruz Style
Dimensions:
Overall: 49.2cm x 23.5cm x 11.4cm
AMICA Contributor:
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Owner Location:
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
ID Number:
1973.3
Credit Line:
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Provenance:
Paul Tishman, NY
Context:
In relief sculpture, ballplayers are depicted wearing palmas (objects shaped like palm fronds) at the waist, just above the protective yolk. Presumably, stone palmas are replicas of lighter-weight examples worn by ballplayers.The human-canine figure on the palma's front probably represents a ballplayer standing atop a platform. On the back of the palma, at the base of the carved scene, are two gesturing figures wearing animal masks. Above them is a platform on which an individual holding a blade prepares to sacrifice a recumbent victim. A canine and a deer reach down as if to receive the offering. Above them a rabbit and a feline gesture toward a descending bat deity, who grasps a severed human head, arm, and leg. The composition probably portrays a sequence of events; a contest or ceremony at the bottom, a sacrifice in the center, and the acceptance of the offering at the top.
Related Image Identifier Link:
CMA_.1973.3.tif
