Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Incised Tablet
Not on view
An Underwater Panther, a mythical spirit of the Underworld, is carved on this stone tablet. Fearsome teeth, circular eyes, and a feathered crest identify the creature, which is believed to hold knowledge of healing medicines and to have control of animals and the dangerous whirlpools of powerful rivers. This tablet, one of several to have been recovered from sites in Iowa and Missouri, reflects a complex history of cultural evolution and links Mississippian peoples to the historical tribes of the Eastern Plains.
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