Olmec Basalt Yugito, Ballgame Handstone, Kneecap Form

Pre-Columbian, Guerrero, Mexico, Olmec, 1000 BCE. A ball of dark gray basalt, pecked and ground to a compact sphere, its upper face opened into a deep socket spanned by a raised basket-type handle. The hollowed interior lets the hand slip beneath the bridge so the mass rides against the palm and knuckles. The swelling profile reads as a stylized kneecap or joint, an anatomical conceit favored by Olmec lapidaries. Objects of this class, known as yugitos, are generally understood as ballgame equipment, probably worn or gripped as protective gear, though a purely ceremonial or votive role is equally possible. Weathered surface, tan mineral bloom over the volcanic stone. A rare survival of the heavy stone paraphernalia associated with the earliest Mesoamerican ballgame. Size: 4" W x 4.125" H (10.2 cm W x 10.5 cm H).

The Mesoamerican ballgame is attested from the Olmec heartland onward, and the rubber balls that gave the sport its name were made from latex tapped in the Gulf lowlands. The heavy stone gear associated with it, yokes, hachas, palmas, and the small yugitos, is generally read as a combination of true protective equipment and its ritual, funerary, or trophy counterpart carved in stone too heavy for play. Guerrero produced a distinctive body of Olmec-affiliated stonework in basalt, serpentine, and greenstone, and hollowed handstones of this compact spherical type are among its scarcer forms.

Provenance: Estate of Diana Lofredo, NYC. By inheritance from Ron Nasser, NYC. Acquired from Arte Primitivo, auction 58, lot 9, 2011. Ex. Edmund Budde, Sr. collection, NYS., acquired in the 1950’s.

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Item #

73018

Condition
Handle reattached, otherwise intact.

Buyer's Premium
30%