Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Ghost Dance Drum
George Beaver Native American
Not on view
A dark and powerful image of Thunderer, mythical ruler of the Sky World, dominates the painted design of this drum. Streaks of lightning shoot from the creature’s wings, eyes, and mouth. Below, a group of swallows flies before the storm that brings new life. Pawnee doctor George Beaver made the drum for the age-old sacred hand game, a ritualized part of the tribe’s Ghost Dance ceremony. The Ghost Dance offered hope for a revival of traditional culture.
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