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
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.