Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Staff god
Not on view
Ancestral figures and flying foxes descend the central arm of this boldly carved ritual staff god from the Cook Islands. Their sequence, emphasized by the careful notching of the central figure’s spine, reinforces the close genealogical relationship between humans, their gods, and the natural world. Tightly bound with huge bolts of barkcloth when not in use, these staff gods were ritually activated when unwrapped by chiefs and priests during ceremonial rites.
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