Veracruz
Head for Ballgame (Hacha)
Veracruz, 9th-13th century
Physical Qualities
Andesite, 13 3/8 x 9 7/16 x 3 1/8 in. (34 x 24 x 8 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Alan Wurtzburger
Object Number
1960.30.36
Though the ballgame served as entertainment in the Ancient Americas, visual evidence also indicates its symbolic connection to death and the afterlife. This stone yoke features an image of two people, perhaps ballplayers, at each end, as well as a composite amphibian-reptile thought to reside in the underworld at its center.
Group label for: 1961.16, 1960.30.35, 1960.30.36
Darienne Turner, Baltimore Museum of Art, Ancient Americas Gallery Rotations, December 12, 2021.
Baltimore Museum of Art. The Alan Wurtzburger Collection of Pre-Columbian Art. Baltimore, MD: Baltimore Museum of Art, 1958, no. 36, page 23.
On View: Ancient Americas
