When The Burke Museum sent their mummy out for a CT scan, they discovered "Nellie" wasn't wearing her original feet.
The pair that had been displayed with Nellie for years did not belong to her, according to Peter Lape, the Burke's curator of archaeology and a University of Washington acting assistant professor of anthropology, and Laura Phillips, the Burke's archaeology collections manager.
Scans revealed that Nellie's original feet were removed sometime in the 20th century, and her chest cavity was filled with chicken wire and polyurethane foam in an attempt to preserve the mummy.
The Burke Museum began a new conservation and stabilization program on Nellie two years ago. The mummy is part of the Burke's Reverent Remembrance: Honoring the Dead exhibit, which runs through Feb. 22, 2004.
"We are stabilizing Nellie, not restoring her," Phillips stated in a recent press release. "Eventually, we would like to undo what people thought was fixing her in the 1960s. To add fake feet to the mummy is not appropriate."
In 1902, UW regent Mason Backus purchased the mummy and a non-related coffin from the National Museum of Egyptian Antiquities at Giza.
Over the years, Backus' gift to the university became a popular attraction at the Burke and acquired the nickname of "Nellie," apparently after Nellie Cornish, founder of Seattle's Cornish College of the Arts.
Phillips and Lape want to find more historical photographs of the mummy, especially for the period dating from 1902 through the early 1960s. They believe Nellie was displayed at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition held on the UW campus in 1909.
People who have historical photos or other material relating to Nellie may contact Phillips or Lape at the museum, at 543-5590.
Burke's Native American events
Also part of the Burke's Reverent Remembrance: Honoring the Dead exhibit, the museum is presenting a series of lectures on how different cultures honor their dead.
The next lecture is "Pathways to Heaven: Journeys of the Soul in Northwest Coast Native Culture," given by George MacDonald on Thursday, Nov. 6.
MacDonald will discuss how souls in Northwest Coast Native traditions were seen as being on journeys that took them to different cosmic realms in travels as predictable as the migrations of the salmon.
The Burke also presents its annual Native American Arts Celebration! on Nov. 15 and 16. The two all-day sessions are expanded to include Native arts from Central and South America.
Craft activities and artist demonstrations make this one of the Burke's most popular events.
This year's Arts Celebration includes story-telling from the Puget Sound region and Ecuador. Traditional Tshimshian songs and oratory from the northern Northwest Coast will be performed.
All events are included in regular museum admission for the day, so you can check out the state of Nellie's feet as well as gain a little culture.
For more information on museum events, see www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/. The Burke is located on the corner of Northeast 45th Street and 17th Avenue Northest on the UW campus. It is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, and until 8 p.m. Thursday.
Fellini exhibits continue
Two art shows related to the famed Italian film director Frederico Fellini also are open on the UW campus.
The Gladiator Nun: Fellini's Women features original drawings by Fellini, whose artistic vision of women remains the core of controversy still surrounding him.
The drawings are on loan from the Fondazione Federico Fellini, located in Rimini, Italy, and are on display at the Henry Art Gallery through Dec. 15.
If you're visiting the Henry, take a stroll across Red Square to the Suzzallo Library. The Beautiful Confusion shows a series of photographs taken by photographer Tazio Secchiaroli of himself and Fellini on the set of the film "8 1/2."
Beautiful Confusion remains on display through Nov. 30 at the Suzzallo.
InFACT at Varsity
Fans of the documentary film will want to check out the InFACT Showcase at the Varsity Theatre, 4329 University Way N.E.
This mini-festival of documentary films features works from around the world on topics ranging from eating breakfast with gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson to political kidnappings in South America to wild parrot flocks in San Francisco.
The festival opens Thursday, Nov. 6, with "Charlie: The Life and Art of Charlie Chaplin." Richard Schickel, best known for his movie reviews in Time Magazine, directed this documentary, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.
Schickel will attend the screening and participate in a post-film discussion.
Tickets for "Charlie" are $12 for Cinema Seattle members and $15 for the general public. Tickets for the rest of the documentaries range from $5 to $9.
The InFACT Showcase runs at the Varsity from Thursday, Nov. 6, through Nov. 13. For a complete schedule, stop by the theater, or check the Cinema Seattle website: www.seattlefilm.com.
Rosemary Jones writes about entertainment and the arts. E-mail her at healingpgs@aol.com
