Palma
- Culture
- Classic Veracruz
- Period
- Late Classic period, 600–909
- Date
- c.600–909
- Material
- Stone
- made in
- Veracruz state, Mexico, North and Central America
- Classification
- Sculpture, stone & mineral
- Collection
- Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas
- Current Location
- On View, Gallery 114
- Dimensions
- 15 11/16 x 8 3/4 x 6 5/16 in. (39.8 x 22.3 x 16.1 cm)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Morton D. May
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 364:1978
NOTES
The closed eyes on the head found at the base of this palma suggest death, probably the result of a decapitation ritual. The victim’s feathered headdress rises in relief distinct from the scrollwork that fills out the rest of the surface, and continues onto the back. In depictions of the ballgame, heads of sacrificial victims often served as substitutes—real and symbolic—for the rubber ball.
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