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Frog yoke

600-900 CE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 360
This greenstone yoke is likely a ceremonial representation of a lighter protective guard worn by Mesoamerican ballgame players. The batrachian creature carved in the center of the yoke, with its bulging eyes, small nostrils, and elongated mouth parted by a curving tongue, has been identified as a depiction of an earth monster who resides at the entrance to the underworld. Such imagery is appropriate for the ballgame with its resulting sacrifice of blood to nourish the earth and promote fertility. Into the pattern of interlaces and scrolls on each side of the yoke, the artist incorporated a low-relief depiction of a helmeted human head, perhaps a representation of a ballplayer. On each end of the U-shaped yoke is a profile depiction in higher relief of another human face.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Frog yoke
  • Artist: Classic Veracruz artist(s)
  • Date: 600-900 CE
  • Geography: Mexico, Mesoamerica, Veracruz
  • Culture: Veracruz
  • Medium: Greenstone, pigment (probably hematite)
  • Dimensions: H. 5 x W. 14 7/8 x D. 15 3/4 in. (12.7 x 37.8 x 40 cm)
  • Classification: Stone-Sculpture
  • Credit Line: The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Gift of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1963
  • Object Number: 1978.412.15
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing

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