MYNORTHWEST NEWS

Museum hopes to bring rare mask that inspired Seahawks logo to Seattle

Sep 10, 2014, 5:53 AM | Updated: Sep 15, 2014, 11:12 am

A rare Native mask on display at a museum in Maine has been identified as the inspiration for the S...

A rare Native mask on display at a museum in Maine has been identified as the inspiration for the Seahawks logo. (Courtesy Hudson Museum)

(Courtesy Hudson Museum)

A Burke Museum graphic compares the original Seahawks logo with the Native mask that inspired it. The British Columbia Kwakwaka'wakw mask, believed to be the inspiration for the original Seahawks logo, is part of the Hudson Museum collections in Maine.

UPDATE:
The Burke Museum has moved fundraising for the project to Kickstarter.

With Seahawks fever again in full swing, Seattle’s Burke Museum is looking to bring a native mask said to have inspired the team’s original logo to town.

The mask gained attention during the Seahawks Super Bowl run in January, after University of Washington students began researching the origins of the team’s logo.

After plenty of speculation, Burke Museum Curator Robin K. Wright recalled conversations with Curator Emeritus Bill Holm many years earlier about the logo.

Holm identified its source as a photo of a transformation eagle mask from the Kwakwaka’wakw – an indigenous tribe from British Columbia – published in a 1950’s book on Northwest Coast art.

After a Burke Museum blog post got shared by thousands of Seahawks fans, Native artists and others, the director of the Hudson Museum at the University of Maine contacted the Burke to tell curators they had the mask in their collection and knew it was the inspiration for the logo, but didn’t know about the published photo.

Wright says Hudson curators told her the mask was part of the collection of the German surrealist artist Max Ernst, and after his death in 1976 was acquired by a private collector, William P. Palmer III. The Palmer collection came to the Hudson Museum in 1982.

Since all of the attention earlier this year, the Hudson Museum has had the mask on display.

Now, the Hudson has agreed to lend the mask to the Burke Museum to display in Seattle. But the museum needs the public’s help to get it here.

It’s launched a fundraising campaign on Kickstarter, seeking over $14,000 to pay for conserving the mask, stabilize its movable parts, insurance and shipping.

The money will also pay for travel costs for two Kwakwaka’wakw community members to travel from northern Vancouver Island, B.C. to the Burke Museum to welcome and study the mask, the museum says. Kwakwaka’wakw cultural experts will study the mask learn more about its history. Kwakwaka’wakw community members, Burke Museum and Hudson Museum curators are hoping this consultation will reveal more about which village the mask originally came from, which artist might have created it, how old it is, and its original ceremonial function in Kwakwaka’wakw culture.

The museum hopes to have it in Seattle in time to share it with visitors during the Here and Now exhibit opening at the Burke Museum on Nov. 22, 2014.

MyNorthwest News

Image: The awnings of a store advertise the sale of lottery tickets, including Mega Millions and Po...

Steve Coogan

Lottery jackpots update: Powerball prize up for grabs after $1.1B Mega Millions ticket sold

A lottery jackpots update: The Powerball prize reached an estimated $865 million ahead of Wednesday night's drawing.

5 hours ago

Photo: The Judge Patricia H. Clark Children and Family Justice Center....

James Lynch

King County’s plan to close youth detention center met with fierce backlash

The King County Law and Justice Committee received a final report on Executive Dow Constantine's plan to close a youth detention center.

7 hours ago

Image: A cargo ship is stuck under the part of the structure of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after ...

Associated Press

Authorities identify 2 bodies recovered at site of Baltimore bridge collapse

A major bridge in Baltimore snapped and collapsed after a container ship rammed into it early Tuesday, and several vehicles fell into the river below.

8 hours ago

Photo: Mountaineer Jim Whittaker has died at 95....

Gene Johnson, The Associated Press

Lou Whittaker, among the most famous American mountaineers, has died at age 95

Lou Whittaker, a legendary American mountaineer who helped lead ascents of Mount Everest, K2 and Denali, has died at age 95.

9 hours ago

File photo: Former Sen. Joe Lieberman speaks in Washington on Jan. 18, 2024....

Associated Press

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP pick in 2000, dead at 82

Former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who nearly won the vice presidency on the Democratic ticket with Al Gore in 2000, has died.

9 hours ago

Image: A Tacoma teen was shot outside her Tacoma Hilltop area apartment over the weekend....

Heather Bosch

Estranged boyfriend suspected in Tacoma teen’s death turns himself in

We're learning more about the man who's accused of fatally shooting a teenager outside her Tacoma Hill Top area apartment over the weekend.

10 hours ago

Museum hopes to bring rare mask that inspired Seahawks logo to Seattle