Ballplayer with Ball200 BCE–500 CE

On view:

Geffen Galleries

Title: Ballplayer with Ball
Culture: Jalisco
Place Made: Mexico, Jalisco
Date Made: 200 BCE–500 CE
Style: Ameca-Etzatlán
Medium: Slip-painted earthenware
Dimensions: 20 3/4 x 14 in. (52.71 x 35.56 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Constance McCormick Fearing
Accession Number: AC1998.209.7
Classification: Ceramics
Collecting Area: Art of the Ancient Americas
Curatorial Notes: In Mesoamerican art, ballplayers are usually identified as such by the padding and protective gear they wear. This rendering dispenses with the equipment altogether. In a simple loincloth and modest row of earrings, our figure proudly holds a large ball in his upturned hand. His wide shoulders and strong legs convey the athleticism required of ballplayers, as opposed to the symbolic or religious elements often associated with the game in Central Mexico and the Maya regions of Mesoamerica. An actual Mesoamerican ball would have been made of solid rubber, and its elastic powers surprised and enthralled Spanish chroniclers. A version of the Mesoamerican ballgame, called ulama, is still played in Northwest Mexico (Sinaloa) today.

Julia Burtenshaw

2024

On view:

Geffen Galleries

Title: Ballplayer with Ball
Culture: Jalisco
Place Made: Mexico, Jalisco
Date Made: 200 BCE–500 CE
Style: Ameca-Etzatlán
Medium: Slip-painted earthenware
Dimensions: 20 3/4 x 14 in. (52.71 x 35.56 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Constance McCormick Fearing
Accession Number: AC1998.209.7
Classification: Ceramics
Collecting Area: Art of the Ancient Americas
Curatorial Notes: In Mesoamerican art, ballplayers are usually identified as such by the padding and protective gear they wear. This rendering dispenses with the equipment altogether. In a simple loincloth and modest row of earrings, our figure proudly holds a large ball in his upturned hand. His wide shoulders and strong legs convey the athleticism required of ballplayers, as opposed to the symbolic or religious elements often associated with the game in Central Mexico and the Maya regions of Mesoamerica. An actual Mesoamerican ball would have been made of solid rubber, and its elastic powers surprised and enthralled Spanish chroniclers. A version of the Mesoamerican ballgame, called ulama, is still played in Northwest Mexico (Sinaloa) today.

Julia Burtenshaw

2024