Veracruz Stone Manopla

The abstract form of this hand-stone resonates with a modern and timeless aesthetic. Sometimes referred to as padlock stones, they were ceremonial and functional sculptures, one of the ballgame accoutrements. These stone sculptures were likely the trophy versions of the perishable hand-stones used by ballplayers. Manopla forms ranged from oblong to circular and are known from the Gulf Coast to the southern Maya Highlands.

This basalt manopla is covered in brilliant red cinnabar (mercury sulfide) imbuing a sacred aspect to the heavy stone. There is a harmonious proportion as the solid lower half flows into the rounded handles forming openwork triangular areas with slightly curved edges on both vertical and horizontal sides. 

For a manopla of similar form, see Gaston Burnand, ed., Mexique. Terre des Dieux, Geneva, 1998, p. 160, cat. no. 166; and Solís Olguín and Ted J. J. Leyenaar, Mexico, Journey to the Land of the Gods: Art Treasures of Ancient Mexico, Amsterdam, 2002, cat. no. 172.

For a Maya ceramic figure of a ballplayer holding a manopla, see Ted. J.J. Leyenaar and Lee A. Parsons, Ulama: The Ballgame of the Mayas and Aztecs, Leiden, 1988, p. 118, pl. 21.