Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Shell Mask Gorget
Not on view
This minimally carved and engraved gorget, or ornament worn at the throat, likely held religious meaning. Scholars surmise it may also have been associated with warrior societies. The object was found along the Missouri River in present-day South Dakota, and its discovery suggests a connection between the ancient Mississippian cultures and Plains people. The hole at the bottom may have originally held a feather.
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