Barakat Gallery
Skip to main content
  • Menu
  • Home
  • Artworks
  • Exhibitions
  • About
  • Contact
Menu
  • Menu

Veracruz Art

  • All
  • Masterpieces of Pre-Columbian Art
  • Aztec Art
  • Art of Costa Rica
  • Art of Ecuador
  • Mayan Art
  • Mayan Ceramics
  • Mezcala Art
  • Olmec Art
  • Olmec Masks
  • Art of Panama
  • Taino Art
  • Teotihuacan Art
  • Toltec Art
  • Veracruz Art
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Veracruz Stone Hacha, 200 CE - 600 CE
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Veracruz Stone Hacha, 200 CE - 600 CE
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Veracruz Stone Hacha, 200 CE - 600 CE
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Veracruz Stone Hacha, 200 CE - 600 CE

Veracruz Stone Hacha, 200 CE - 600 CE

Stone
30.5 x 21 cm
12 x 8 1/4 in
CK.0814
Enquire
%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22title_and_year%22%3E%3Cspan%20class%3D%22title_and_year_title%22%3EVeracruz%20Stone%20Hacha%3C/span%3E%2C%20%3Cspan%20class%3D%22title_and_year_year%22%3E200%20CE%20%20-%20%20600%20CE%3C/span%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22medium%22%3EStone%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22dimensions%22%3E30.5%20x%2021%20cm%3Cbr/%3E%0A12%20x%208%201/4%20in%3C/div%3E

Further images

  • (View a larger image of thumbnail 1 ) Thumbnail of additional image
  • (View a larger image of thumbnail 2 ) Thumbnail of additional image
  • (View a larger image of thumbnail 3 ) Thumbnail of additional image
  • (View a larger image of thumbnail 4 ) Thumbnail of additional image
View on a Wall
The Classic Veracruz cultures were small, tightly- packed city states, all governed by hereditary rulers, who sat at the top of highly stratified social structures. Economically, it was based upon...
Read more
The Classic Veracruz cultures were small, tightly- packed city states, all governed by hereditary rulers, who sat at the top of highly stratified social structures. Economically, it was based upon slash and burn agricultural techniques, supplemented by exploitation of marine resources, as well as hunting. The culture was fuelled by long- distance trade networks that ran throughout Mesoamerica, as evidenced by the spread of luxury items and exotic goods. In this they strongly resemble the Olmecs, who preceded them and to whom they owed a considerable cultural and artistic debt. Religion was based upon the Olmec “earth monster”, as well as a death god who has been likened to Mictlantecuhtli, a deity worshipped by their cultural neighbour, the Aztecs. Like the Aztecs, they were obsessed with death, sacrifice and the Mesoamerican ballgame, another cultural bequest from the Olmecs. There are accounts stating that the losing team was sacrificed as an offering to the gods; other chroniclers suggest that it might have been used as a substitute for warfare. As a result their iconography is somewhat sanguineous – with decapitations, blood-letting and bound prisoners common themes – surrounded by extensive and convoluted banded scrolls that can be seen both on monumental architecture and on mobile art. A defining characteristic of the Classic Veracruz culture is the presence of stone ballgame gear: yokes, hachas, and palmas. Yokes are U-shaped stones worn about the waist of a ballplayer, while the hachas and palmas sit upon the yoke. These were probably worn ceremonially by the victors; the actual pieces were probably made of wood and leather. Interestingly, while hachas and yokes are found throughout the range, the palmas seem peculiar to what is today northern Veracruz.

The ball game, perhaps ritually signifying the transit of the sun and moon between the celestial and terrestrial spheres, was an important event in Mesoamerican culture, considered necessary to maintain the cosmic cycle. The game was played on a large, I- shaped court enclosed by high walls that had an astrological significance in relation to its alignment. At the midpoint, two stone rings were placed high in the air, about twenty-seven feet high. Apparently, scholars believe that the object of the game was to get the hard rubber ball through one of the hoops without using your feet or hands, only your hips. This is where the yoke comes in. Yokes made from cloth were worn around the players’ hips as protective padding. However, yokes were also made from heavy stone, suggesting that they were created for ceremonial use instead. Because the ballgame was of utmost social and religious significance to the Maya, it is believed that ceremonial ballgames were played. In the Popol Vuh, the most important source of Mayan mythology, a ball game is described taking place between the Hero Twins and the Lords of the Underworld. Upon the victory, the Hero twins, Hunahpu and Xbalanque, were deified as the sun and the moon. Perhaps ritual reenactments of this mythological match were performed in which “players” acting as the hero twins wore such elaborate and impractical equipment. Or perhaps this ball game equipment was merely carved in such durable materials in order to last eternally throughout the afterlife after being buried alongside the deceased.
Close full details
Share
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr
  • Email
Previous
|
Next
15 
of  19

London

48 Albemarle Street,

London, W1S 4JW

info@barakatgallery.eu 

 

       


 

CONTACT | TEAM | PRESS 

 

Seoul
58-4, Samcheong-ro,
Jongno-gu, Seoul
+82 02 730 1949
barakat@barakat.kr
             

 

Los Angeles

941 N La Cienega Blvd
Los Angeles CA 90069
+1 310 859 8408

contact@barakatgallery.com

  


 

 

Facebook, opens in a new tab.
Instagram, opens in a new tab.
Send an email
View on Google Maps
Manage cookies
Copyright © 2025 Barakat Gallery
Site by Artlogic


Manage cookies
Accept

Cookie preferences

Check the boxes for the cookie categories you allow our site to use

Cookie options
Required for the website to function and cannot be disabled.
Improve your experience on the website by storing choices you make about how it should function.
Allow us to collect anonymous usage data in order to improve the experience on our website.
Allow us to identify our visitors so that we can offer personalised, targeted marketing.
Save preferences
Close

Join our mailing list

Sign Up

* denotes required fields