800–1400 CE

800–1400 CE

800–1400 CE
Culture
Huastec
Locale
northern Veracruz
Country
Mexico
Object
figure, female
Medium
Slip-painted ceramic
Accession Number
1972.399
Credit Line
Marion Hendrie Fund

Unknown Huastec artist, Tampico region, Northern Veracruz, Mexico. Female Ballplayer Figurine, 800–1400 CE. Slip-painted ceramic, 8 x 3 ½ x 1 ½ inches. Denver Art Museum Collection: Marion Hendrie Fund, 1972.399.

Dimensions
height: 8 in, 20.3200 cm; width: 3.5 in, 8.8900 cm; depth: 1.5 in, 3.8100 cm
Department
Mayer Center, Arts of the Ancient Americas
Collection
Arts of the Ancient Americas
This object is currently on view

Female Figurine
Huastec
About A.D. 800–1400
Mexico, northern Veracruz
Earthenware with slip
Marion Hendrie Fund, 1972.399

This figurine portrays a young woman wearing jewelry, a flowered headband, and a thick belt around her hips.  Some scholars interpret the belt as protective padding of the sort worn by ballplayers in many regions of Mesoamerica.  The ballgame was more than a sport: the ball was symbolically linked to celestial bodies and deities, and human sacrifice was sometimes performed in association with the game.  It is unclear whether women participated in the game as players.