Detail View: The AMICA Library: Ballgame Thin Stone Head (Hacha)
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AMICA ID:
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CMA_.2001.89
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AMICA Library Year:
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2002
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Object Type:
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Sculpture
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Creator Nationality:
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North American; Central American; Mesoamerican
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Creator Name-CRT:
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Mexico, Gulf Coast, Classic Veracruz style (600-1100)
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Title:
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Ballgame Thin Stone Head (Hacha)
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Title Type:
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Primary
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View:
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Full View
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Creation Date:
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600-900
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Creation Start Date:
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600
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Creation End Date:
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900
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Materials and Techniques:
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stone, pigment
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Classification Term:
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Sculpture-stone
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Dimensions:
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Overall: 61.8cm x 20cm x 8.8cm
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AMICA Contributor:
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The Cleveland Museum of Art
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Owner Location:
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Cleveland, Ohio, USA
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ID Number:
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2001.89
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Credit Line:
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Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund
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Rights:
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© Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York Image: Copyright The Cleveland Museum of Art
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Provenance:
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Edward Merrin, before 1968; [Merrin Gallery, NY]
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Context:
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A tapered headdress-its base formed by a grotesque head with upturned snout-soars majestically above a serene human face in this thin stone head. Such heads probably were used in ballgame ceremonies, though we are not sure how. Equally obscure are the heads' identities. They could represent heroic, idealized players, ballgame patrons, or characters from the game's lore, among other things. Pigment traces suggest the head originally was painted; the large area of red pigment on one side may have been sprinkled after the head was buried in an offering or a tomb.
In this drawing, based on a wall relief in El Tajín's South Ballcourt, a ballplayer is shown with a hip protector around his waist. The protector supports a palma at the front and an hacha-like head at the back. Drawing from Sculptures of El Tajín, Fig. 22, University of Florida Press, 1972
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Related Image Identifier Link:
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CMA_.AM20021029.tif
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