Kelsey Museum Getting A New Look

The ivy-covered walls and the architecture of U-M's Kelsey Museum of Ancient and Medieval Archaeology lend more than just a suggestion of days gone by. The dark paneled galleries, with windows sheltered from the sun to protect the ancient artifacts on display, add a mysterious touch to a museum which at one time was inhabited by a mummy. (On loan from New York's Metropolitan Museum, she was sent back over a year ago.) But today, the 87 year old building is succombing to modernization- although not too much. The museum closed in June for renovation and revitalization. The woodeh floors and paneling throughout the first floor's galleries are being stripped and restored to their natural oak color. Walls are being painted and new exhibit cases installed. "The old éxhibit cages were installed in 1929," said research assistant Ann Pillai. "Before, all the exhibits were against the walls. Vincent Ciulla of New j York has redesigned the galleries and display cases so that the architecture of the rooms will be visible. With the exhibits against the walls, you lost the shape of the rooms." The idea of the renovation of the galleries is to highlight the exhibits and make the walls less obtrusive. The new exhibit cases will be free-standing so that visitors can view the artifacts from all sides. "There will be nothing against the walls," Pillai said. "The architecture of the building is being returned to its original condition." , "This will give us better design space. We will be able to show things we couldn't before." Assistant curator John Humphrey agreed. "All the old cases were tne same size. Some items wouldn't fit into anything. The difficult items will have cases designed specially for them. And the others will be flexible so we can use different bases and different sizes," he said. The revitalization and renovation of the museum is attributed to the relatively new director, Dr. John G. Pedley who took over the position two years ago. "When Dr. Pedley carne two years ago, Vincent Ciulla had just redesigned the art museum. Dr. Pedley brought him over here for a look. Vincent Ciulla agreed to redesign this museum with the idea of restoring the original character of the building," Pillai said. Museum secretary Patricia Berry said the museum had been declared a state historical monument under the protection of the State Historical Society. ''Wehadtogetpermïssióiwrömtnè historical society to renovate," Berry ; said. "They said it was all right as long j as there were no outside structural ,' changes." Pillai said the motivation behind Pedley's thrust for revitalization was to févitalize the program and make people ! aware of the existence of the museum. "He started by opening the museum ! five days a week from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and then he expanded the hours to seven days a week. Our visitor rate ed," Berry said. "Dr. Pedley feit our collections weren't getting the visibility they should have been," Pillai added. The renovation and revitalization is in two phases. For the first phase, which includes the restoration of the wood, the painting of the walls and cases for the hall and two of the four galleries, funds carne from a $20,000 grant from the I tional Endowment for the Arts with matching funds from the University. A second $20,000 grant for phase two, has been applied for which, if received, will again result in matching funds from the University. ' The museum also received a two-year I grant from the National Endowment for I the Humanities for the cataloging of all I items in the museum's collections. I Humphrey said this will be the first I complete Usung ot au me iterrïs and that I it will help students, scholars and others I who use the museum. Should the second grant come through, I Pillai said, phase two will be completed, I which includes the cases for the other I two galleries and renovation of the I cond floor classroom so that when it is I not in use, it can be used as a special I gallery. The Kelsey Museum was not always a I museum. It was built in 1888 with funds provided by Mrs. Helen H. Newberry of Detroit and named in honor of her late husband Judge John S. Newberry. The building was first occupied by the 1 U-M Students' Christian Association and j later used as a classroom building. Constructed of granite stones, it has four-foot thick solid oak floors in lts upper level to support the weight of audi] enees in a former auditorium. 1 The building became the U-M Museum I of Classical Archaeology in 1929 with J . G . I Winter as director and Orma F. Butler n as curator. In laiu n becimiéièparatéunït under the name Museum of Art and Archaeology and remained so until the Museum of Art became a separate unit in 1946. In 1953, the name was changed to the Francis W. Kelsey Museum of Archaeology in honor of Prof. Kelsey, a teacher of Latin who led archaeological expeditions to the Mediterranean area and was one of its foundtrs and a contributor to the collections. In January 1968 the name was again changed from the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology to the Kelsey Museum of Ancient and Medieval Archaeology. At the time the change was made the purpose given was to emphasize the University's research and teaching in ancient and medeval archaeology with a relative de-emphasis on public exhibits. Research is ongoing at the museum and a new laboratory is being installed, on the second floor of the museum with a conservator, Amy Rosenberg, hired for the first time. , c.F, OVBR_ „ELSEY MUSEUM GETTING A NEW LOOK Rosenberg will work on ancient objects to be put on display. Her work involves Üelaying the disintegration of the objects and temporarily preserving them. She is working on textiles, bronzes, woods and mummy portraits. "We have. mummy portraits from : Egypt but they are so fragüe they haven't been shown for years. They need conservation," Pillai said. Mummy portraits were placed in tombs to identify the person buried there, Pillai said. Also considered a part of the revitalization is a two-year grant for $60,000 a year from the Smithsonian Institute for excavation in Carthage, Tunisia. Humphrey, the assistant curator,, is field director for the project. The main thrust of the excavation, Humphrey said, is to find and lift mosaic flöors found in private homes under which we are dating items from the times the floors were first built. ? "After the lifting, we recover dating. i evidence which identifies when the floors were put down. Dating evidence is found in pottery and coins," he explained. All of the finds remain the property of the Tunisian government but can be loaned to the museum for two years. "We just completed our first year," he said. "Items we found- women's toilet articles, gems, coins and bronzes- will be on display in the museum after it opens.' Also on display after the museum opens will be new pieces of sculpture which were recently purchased. As yet it is unknown when the museum, which closed June 18, will reopen. If funding is only received for phase one, it will reopen in January. If funding is received for phase two, the museum will reopen in the fall of 1976 although the classroom will reopen ín January. The staff is enthusiastic about the changes and new directions for the museum. Hopefully after it reopens, more passers-by, wondering what's in that quaint little building, will stop in and i find out. __