Cleveland Museum of Art

Ballgame Palma

Date: c. 900–1100
Medium: stone
Culture: Mexico, Gulf Coast, Classic Veracruz style (600-1100)
Department: Art of the Americas
Institution: Cleveland Museum of Art

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. The Mesoamerican ballgame was played with a hard rubber ball that players bounced off their hips.

View at Cleveland Museum of Art ↗

The authoritative record is held by Cleveland Museum of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.

Related across collections

Semantically similar works from Cleveland Museum of Art and other institutions.

Table, from the tomb sculpture set: Three Capped Men Kneeling around a Low Table and Playing 'Liubo'

Harvard Art Museums

Female Court Musician with Hand Raised, from the tomb sculpture set: Four Kneeling, Female Court Musicians (One with a 'Pipa', or Lute, and One with Cymbals), Each of the Four with a High-Waisted, Striped Dress or Skirt and with Long Hair Arranged in Two Buns

Harvard Art Museums