Yoke with Reptilian Motif
Artist:
Unknown
General region:North and Central America
Place made:Veracruz, Mexico
Culture: Huastec
Period: Pre-Columbian
Date: ca. A.D. 600 - 900
Medium: Stone with mother-of-pearl inlay
Dimensions:
h. 14 1/4 in. (36.2 cm); w. 16 1/2 in. (41.9 cm); d. 14 in. (35.6 cm)
Credit Line: San Antonio Museum of Art, bequest of Elizabeth Huth Coates
Object number: 97.1.12
Provenance: with Elizabeth Huth Coates (nee Maddux) (1909-1996), San Antonio, TX, by 1997; by bequest of the Elizabeth Huth Coates estate to the San Antonio Museum of Art, 1997
Label Text
The Mesoamerican ballgame was a highly ritualized activity linked to concepts of death, sacrifice, and the underworld. Players usually wore protective gear, including a waist yoke made of leather or wood. The stone yoke displayed here is symbolic of lighter devices worn by players. Carved on this yoke is a skeleton of a centipede, a symbol that embodies several major themes of the ballgame. This yoke is unique in the presence and preservation of mother of pearl inlays located in the centipede teeth. (Bernadette Cap, 2020)
On view
In Collection(s)
The San Antonio Museum of Art is in the process of digitizing its permanent collection. This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect SAMA's complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of such records is ongoing.
This resource has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor.
