Brucie, Unfortunately, the Hami Museum is little visited and neglected. The first day, I was the only person in the museum. The next day, I took along a contingent of travel mates who were tired of visiting coal mines to see steam engines. Again, we were the only folks in the museum. The items shown in the catalogue were in Urumqi but not in the museum, probably in the Xinjiang Archeological Institute mentioned in Barber's mummies. It takes a gov't permit to get into that museum.

A tungsten light was burned out over one of the cases and I got a museum person at the desk and pointed to the light and then to the case. I think he said that he couldn't fix it so he brought a HUGE flashlight for me to shine on the bog coat. It's rather ironic that they have the textiles lighted using tungsten lights but will not allow digital pictures. Nevermind.

In UrumQi, I could see significant deterioration in Cherchen man and Loulan Beauty.

Brucie Connell <brucie38@...> wrote:
Great descriptions LInda. Having worked in a museum I know that the poor light, while terribly frustrating, is the best thing for textile preservation. Actually it is recommended that textiles only be on display for very limited periods of time, so it is good you saw these when you did, because they probably will be deteriorating quickly.

Brucie

---------------------------------
Ready for the edge of your seat? Check out tonight's top picks on Yahoo! TV.








---------------------------------
Sick sense of humor? Visit Yahoo! TV's Comedy with an Edge to see what's on, when.