This palma is carved to represent a fan-tailed bird. Palmas are made with a wide variety of images, including many types of birds and animals, and designs emphasizing blood and sacrifice. They were worn attached to the front of the “yoke” (waist ornament) in ritual processions staged during the ballgame or were sometimes set into the architecture of the ball court.
Volcanic stone
11 3/4 x 5 1/4 x 6 1/2 in. (29.85 x 13.34 x 16.51 cm)
Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection
48.88
Photo: Elizabeth Mann
Now on view at the
Seattle Art Museum
Resources
Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Cosmic Beings in Mesoamerican and Andean Art, Nov. 10, 2018 - ongoing.
Seattle Art Museum respectfully acknowledges that we are on Indigenous land, the traditional territories of the Coast Salish people. We honor our ongoing connection to these communities past, present, and future.
