Guatemalan Lowlands. AD 600–900.
Mold-made, cream-slipped, ceramic with red cinnabar.
Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (12a–12d)
Miniature Flasks with Baseball Themes
The ancient Mayan ballgame was the sport of kings and commoners alike. Seen as a cosmic contest played by planetary gods in the heavens and as the game of life and death with the Lords of the Underworld, ballcourts were places of sacrifice and, literally, portals into Xibalba, the Maya Underworld. Research, based in part on the Kislak Collection of Maya miniature flasks, suggests that they contained tobacco-based medicines, liniments, and magical potions used by ballplayers, among others, and ballgame themes are commonly represented.