Maya Jaina Pottery Ball Player

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Ancient | Ethnographic Art Through The Ages

By Artemis Gallery

Mar 4, 2021

Set Reminder 2021-03-04 10:00:00 2021-03-04 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Ancient | Ethnographic Art Through The Ages https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/ancient-ethnographic-art-through-the-ages-6467
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• Lot Description
  Pre-Columbian, Mexico, Jaina Island, Maya, Late Classic Period, ca. 600 to 950 CE. A lively Meso-American ballplayer, skillfully modeled to capture the energetic motion of the famous game. The ballplayer looks up and to his left with a determined expression. His right forearm is outstretched, and his left leg is bent at the knee to carry his weight as he lifts his right leg. He wears a blue yoke around his waist to protect him from the impact of the rubber ball traditionally used for this game, a large earring (the other one missing), a blue necklace, and a cap-like head covering. Figures like this one, found on an island off the Yucatan peninsula, are noted for their lifelike faces and their impressive details. Scholars have posited that they were intended to represent actual people. It is also thought that they were created in Campeche and brought to Jaina Island to be buried with the deceased. Size: 3" W x 5.75" H (7.6 cm x 14.6 cm); 6" H (15.2 cm) on included custom stand.
  
  Jaina Island was a residential and funerary settlement adjacent to the coast of west-central Campeche. During the nineteenth century, its extensive burial grounds were discovered; however, archaeologists first excavated the region in the 1940s. They revealed figurines like this example in the arms of the deceased elite members of society who had been dressed in their finest clothes and wrapped in cotton burial shrouds and palm-fiber mats. According to Mexico archaeologist Roman Pina Chan, the director of excavations at Jaina, the ballgame had religious connotations, as it was associated with the Sun and/or Venus. The movement of the ball was thought to represent the movement of the Sun through the sky; while play in the four corners of the court symbolized an imitation of the star Venus. In general, the association with the cult of the sun evolved in the Classic period, whereas the connection with Venus was a Post-Classic development. Players who were specially trained for inter-city games wore protective stomach wrappings, and one arm was also wrapped. Players also wore wide wrist and knee guards. All this protection was very important, since players were not allowed to use their hands to hit the large, solid-rubber ball.
  
  Provenance: ex-Saint Petersburg, Florida, USA collection, Raul Campas /Raul Kammfer, Mexico and Argentina, 1960's-1980's; private collection, Midwest US, 1990's to present
  
  All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
  
  A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
  
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  #161051

  Condition

  Repaired with head and right leg reattached with visible hairline fissures. Losses to arms and leg as shown. Losses to blue yoke, earring, and headdress. Areas of mineral deposits and earthen encrustations.
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