Palma

Judging from Classic period depictions of ballplayers, palmas may have served a similar role to hachas as attachments to yugos. It has been assumed that the curved indentation at the base of these sculptures was intended to secure them on ayugo or other supporting structure. The name palma derives from the earliest examples found, which were in the shape of palm fronds; perhaps these stone objects imitate actual palm fronds formerly worn in the leather belts (see Leyenaar and Parsons, 1988: nos. 67-82; Wilkerson, 1990: nos. 74’7)-

Most ballgame objects date to the Classic period (ad 300-900), but a few examples are known from the Postclassic period. This figure, illustrated in Ford (1964 : cat. 13), is a rare piece, not only for its stylistic attributes, which would suggest a Postclassic date, but also for the composition, consisting of a figure, now armless, shown with the right leg folded under the body and the left knee bent. The head appears to have been re-attached to the body in modern times.

Entry taken from Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Collection 3 volume catalogue, edited by Steven Hooper (Yale University Press, 1997).