The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 19, 2024
Ballgame Thin Stone Head (Hacha)
600–900
(600-1100)
Overall: 61.6 x 20 x 8.8 cm (24 1/4 x 7 7/8 x 3 7/16 in.)
Location: 233 Mesoamerican and Intermediate Region
Description
A tapering headdress, its base formed by a grotesque head with upturned snout, soars above a human face in this elegant thin stone head. Such heads, known as hachas, probably were used in ballgame ceremonies, though how is unclear. Equally obscure are the heads’ identities, perhaps heroic, idealized players, ballgame patrons, or characters from the game’s lore. The large area of red pigment on one side may have been sprinkled onto the head after it was buried in an offering or a tomb.- Cleveland Museum of Art, “Gift of Major New Stella Sculpture, Purchases of 6th-Century Jeweled Buckle, Ancient Indian Bronze Ancient Mexican Stone Head Among CMA’s Autumn Acquisitions,” December 26, 2001, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives. archive.orgBergh, Susan, "Art from the Sacred Ballgame", Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine. Vol. 42 no. 03, March 2002 Mentioned & reproduced: p. 8-9 archive.org
- Waltham, MA: The Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University; November 7 - December 20, 1981. " Ancient American Art: An Aesthetic View."
- {{cite web|title=Ballgame Thin Stone Head (Hacha)|url=false|author=|year=600–900|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2001.89