GARDE

GARDE

*Axe tenon in the shape of a face with the physical characteristics of a man seen in profile, somewhat geometrized. The body of a bird, folded in on itself, can be seen in this human representation. The bird takes the place of a cap or headdress. Nestled atop the skull, the bird's head rests against the man's forehead, its tail resting nonchalantly over the ear. As if asleep, the animal has tucked its beak under a wing. The man is clearly identifiable by his broad, arched eyebrows, his bumpy, blunt nose and pursed lips topped with a moustache. Gray-brown andesite with traces of tar (chapopote). Veracruz, Mexico, 450 - 750 A.D. 22.9 x 17.7 x 3.8 cm Provenance: Former Yvon Collet collection, 1968. An axe is a two-dimensional object most often depicting a head seen in profile. The iconographic motif, human or animal, is systematically doubled on each side. Its name derives from the Spanish word hacha, alluding to its shape, in particular its outer edge, often bevelled like the blade of an axe. The axe is one of the three elements of the Mesoamerican ball game, along with the yoke and the palm. If a stone axe has a notch, it may have been carried on a yoke, but only for ceremonial purposes. And if they have a tenon, they may be the remains of architectural ornaments, originally embedded in the side walls of the site. In recent years, some stone examples have been found either in funerary contexts or buried in votive caches. One of the characteristics of the Veracruz culture is the presence of axes, yokes and stone flippers for ulama, also known as "ball game" or "pelota game". The tradition of this game dates back to the Olmec era on the Gulf coast. There are several variants of this game, but it always pits two teams against each other, competing for a rubber ball that cannot be thrown back with the hands or feet, but only with the hips, elbows or knees. The game has a profound meaning. It has a religious function and symbolizes Mesoamerican cosmogony. The ball embodies the course of the sun, and the game expresses the will of the gods. The Veracruz culture spread along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. It takes its name from the port city, built on the exact spot where the Spanish landed in 1519. Hernán Cortès and his men erected a Christian cross here (Vera Crux, derived from the Latin). Today, Veracruz is both a city and a state.