Ballgame Palma
Unknown Artist
900–1100
Medium
stone, pigment
Dimensions
43.5 × 24 × 15 cm
Classification
Sculpture
Department
Art of the Americas
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James C. Gruener
Accession Number
1990.253
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
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. Palma imagery is not well-studied and the meaning of the caiman (New World alligator) carved on both sides of this example is unknown. The tail is beautifully adapted to the palma's curved upper edge.