Marble
University of Notre Dame
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Ritual Ballgame Handstone (Manopla)

Date

1100-300 BCE

Creator

Unrecorded Las Charcas artist

Location

Raclin Murphy Museum of Art

This style of finger grip manopla may be an original Middle Preclassic Maya contribution to the ballgame equipment inventory. Its shape is quite different from the finger grip form introduced by the Olmec. The ballplayer's hand was inserted into the mitten-shaped depression on the back of this example. The player gripped the portion between thumb and index finger and swung it during play. The manopla also may have been strapped onto the player's hand with leather thongs. Extensive wear occurs from the center to the lower front edge where the stone hit the ball, putting reverse spin on it. Black residue adheres to the hitting surface. from Life, Death & Duality: A Handbook of the Rev. Edmund P. Joyce, C.S.C. Collection of Ritual Ballgame Sculpture (Notre Dame, 1997)

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This style of finger grip manopla may be an original Middle Preclassic Maya contribution to the ballgame equipment inventory. Its shape is quite different from the finger grip form introduced by the Olmec. The ballplayer's hand was inserted into the mitten-shaped depression on the back of this example. The player gripped the portion between thumb and index finger and swung it during play. The manopla also may have been strapped onto the player's hand with leather thongs. Extensive wear occurs from the center to the lower front edge where the stone hit the ball, putting reverse spin on it. Black residue adheres to the hitting surface. from Life, Death & Duality: A Handbook of the Rev. Edmund P. Joyce, C.S.C. Collection of Ritual Ballgame Sculpture (Notre Dame, 1997)
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  • This style of finger grip manopla may be an original Middle Preclassic Maya contribution to the ballgame equipment inventory. Its shape is quite different from the finger grip form introduced by the Olmec. The ballplayer's hand was inserted into the mitten-shaped depression on the back of this example. The player gripped the portion between thumb and index finger and swung it during play. The manopla also may have been strapped onto the player's hand with leather thongs. Extensive wear occurs from the center to the lower front edge where the stone hit the ball, putting reverse spin on it. Black residue adheres to the hitting surface. from Life, Death & Duality: A Handbook of the Rev. Edmund P. Joyce, C.S.C. Collection of Ritual Ballgame Sculpture (Notre Dame, 1997)
  • This style of finger grip manopla may be an original Middle Preclassic Maya contribution to the ballgame equipment inventory. Its shape is quite different from the finger grip form introduced by the Olmec. The ballplayer's hand was inserted into the mitten-shaped depression on the back of this example. The player gripped the portion between thumb and index finger and swung it during play. The manopla also may have been strapped onto the player's hand with leather thongs. Extensive wear occurs from the center to the lower front edge where the stone hit the ball, putting reverse spin on it. Black residue adheres to the hitting surface. from Life, Death & Duality: A Handbook of the Rev. Edmund P. Joyce, C.S.C. Collection of Ritual Ballgame Sculpture (Notre Dame, 1997)
Unrecorded Las Charcas artist
1100-300 BCE
Tools, Implements, and Weights
Stone
2022.016.003
ball game equipment
Las Charcas
Not on view, please request access
5 7/8 in. (14.94 cm)
James W. and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection, Gift of Marilynn Alsdorf

Our collection information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. If you have spotted an error, please contact Raclin Murphy Museum of Art at RMMACollections@nd.edu.