Cleveland Museum of Art

Figurine Holding A Ball(?)

Date

1500–500 BCE

Medium

earthenware, pigment

Culture

Mexico, Guerrero, Xochipala style

Department

Art of the Americas

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Ballgame ceremonialism and art peaked between AD 600 and 1100 in Veracruz and elsewhere, but forms of a ballgame were played at most times and places in Mesoamerica. This charming figurine, which seems to hold a ball, illustrates that the game developed much earlier, although we know little about its meaning during this period.

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