VERACRUZ - Palma

Ceremonial Palma of a harpy eagle - VERACRUZ - MEXICO - 450 - 750 AD - Pre-Columbian

Height: 21.5 cm

Width: 14.7 cm

Depth : 12.2 cm

Grey-brown volcanic rock

Documents (originals) provided to the acquirer:

- Certificate of authenticity of the Galerie Mermoz,

Santo Micali, Expert, (CNE) Compagnie Nationale des Experts

- Certificate of Art Loss Register

- Passport of free circulation

- Microanalysis report

- Invoice

This splendid palma is a characteristic work of the Classical Culture of Veracruz. It represents a fierce harpy, one of the largest and most powerful raptors in Latin America’s tropical forests, also known as the harp eagle. This exceptional sculpture perfectly illustrates the talent and technical mastery achieved by the artists of Veracruz, who knew how to make very sophisticated pieces on the artistic level and very powerful on the symbolic level, from hard stones, Particularly demanding to work.

The palmas, mainly from northern Veracruz, belong to the «ball game complex». This term, used by archaeologists, designates three types of ceremonial sculptures: yugos, hachas and palmas (of their Spanish name) associated with the sacred game, and considered stone replicas of equipment worn by players. 

The very high quality of these works, the presence of some examples in funerary contexts, their iconography with high symbolic content and the materials used to sculpt them - here a volcanic stone imported from the Veracruz mountains, considered sacred - These were important ritual objects belonging to the elite.