Slideshow

Fantasy: Worlds of Myth and Magic

May 3, 2013

The fake dragon is guarded by an authentic 16th-century suit of armor, once worn by German aristocrat Siegmund Friedrich, Freiherr von Herberstein. No, it does not come to life.

With Courtesy EMP Museum

Fact: The Cowardly Lion's costume is made from six real lion pelts.

Photography by Laura Dannen

Not to be outdone, David Bowie used the arm hair of an orangutan to fashion the wig for his Labyrinth costume. Kidding, kidding. This is the actual Goblin King costume, though, on loan from the Jim Henson Family Collection.

Photography by Laura Dannen

This Winkie guard costume from 1939's The Wizard of Oz is on loan from a private collection. Which means someone owns a giant Winkie costume.

With Courtesy EMP Museum

Within the Canyon of Light and Shadows are several artifacts of good and evil: the Pan face used in Pan's Labyrinth, Sirius Black's prison costume, Charlize Theron's Evil Queen feather cape from Snow White and the Huntsman, the sword of Inigo Montoya (you killed my father, prepare to die) and Count Rugen's six-fingered glove from The Princess Bride.

With Courtesy EMP Museum

Count 'em: six.

With Courtesy EMP Museum

In addition to this original illustration from C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia series, the exhibit includes a few pages from The Lord of the Rings. Marquette actually owns the original manuscript of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. The university had decided to collect works by Catholic authors and approached Lewis and Tolkien (who sold the text for $5,000). Jasen Emmons, EMP director of curatorial affairs, says someone at Christie's estimates The Lord of the Rings manuscript to be worth $20 million now. You can see Tolkien's edits, like where he crosses out "Elfstone" and "Trotter" and replaces it with "Aragorn," as well as his own handwritten Middle-earth spreadsheet. The museum has an A set and B set of Tolkien artifacts. Each set will show for three months before being returned to Marquette.

Illustrations by Pauline BaynesWith C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd.

Game of Thrones fans can examine George R. R. Martin manuscript pages, a page from the HBO show script, and sit in the Iron Throne for a photo op.

With Courtesy EMP Museum

Charlize Theron's feather cape from Snow White and the Huntsman. Fancy yourself more of a Xena, warrior princess? Take the archetype quiz in the forest room to find out what fantasy character you're most like: the Companion? The Unlikely Hero? The Female Warrior? More than one Seattle Met editor was deemed "the Witch," meant to live alone and embittered in the woods. Huh.

With Courtesy EMP Museum

Mystic maquette from Jim Henson's The Dark Crystal. Fits in the palm of Andre the Giant's hand.

With Courtesy EMP Museum

EMP held a naming contest for the scaly beast with the six-foot snout, built by Seattle Opera Scenic Studios. Of the 902 names submitted, 10 were put to a public vote. The winner: Adalinda.

With Courtesy EMP Museum

EMP hosts an exhibit of fantasy literature and film props, from original hand-edited manuscript pages of The Lord of the Rings to Labyrinth costumes.

Exhibits, Game of Thrones, Filmnerd, Museum of Pop Culture

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Fantasy: Worlds of Myth and Magic

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