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The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on
Beaumont Street Beaumont Street is a street in the centre of Oxford, England. The street was laid out from 1828 to 1837 with elegant terraced houses in the Regency style. Before that, it was the location of Beaumont Palace, now noted by a plaque near the j ...
, Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that
Elias Ashmole Elias Ashmole (; 23 May 1617 – 18 May 1692) was an English antiquary, politician, officer of arms, astrologer and student of alchemy. Ashmole supported the royalist side during the English Civil War, and at the restoration of Charles II he ...
gave to the University of Oxford in 1677. It is also the world's second
university museum A university museum is a repository of collections run by a university, typically founded to aid teaching and research within the institution of higher learning. The Ashmolean Museum at the University of Oxford in England is an early example, o ...
, after the establishment of the Kunstmuseum Basel in 1661 by the University of Basel. The present building was built between 1841 and 1845. The museum reopened in 2009 after a major redevelopment, and in November 2011, new galleries focusing on Egypt and Nubia were unveiled. In May 2016, the museum also opened redisplayed galleries of 19th-century art.


History


Broad Street

The museum opened on 24 May 1683, with naturalist Robert Plot as the first keeper. The building on Broad Street (later known as the
Old Ashmolean The History of Science Museum in Broad Street, Oxford, England, holds a leading collection of scientific instruments from Middle Ages to the 19th century. The museum building is also known as the Old Ashmolean Building to distinguish it from t ...
) is sometimes attributed to
Sir Christopher Wren Sir Christopher Wren PRS FRS (; – ) was one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history, as well as an anatomist, astronomer, geometer, and mathematician-physicist. He was accorded responsibility for rebuilding 52 churche ...
or Thomas Wood.
Elias Ashmole Elias Ashmole (; 23 May 1617 – 18 May 1692) was an English antiquary, politician, officer of arms, astrologer and student of alchemy. Ashmole supported the royalist side during the English Civil War, and at the restoration of Charles II he ...
had acquired the collection from the gardeners, travellers, and collectors
John Tradescant the Elder John Tradescant the Elder (; c. 1570s – 15–16 April 1638), father of John Tradescant the Younger, was an English naturalist, gardener, collector and traveller. On 18 June 1607 he married Elizabeth Day of Meopham in Kent, England. She had bee ...
and his son, John Tradescant the Younger. It included antique coins, books, engravings, geological specimens, and zoological specimens—one of which was the stuffed body of the last
dodo The dodo (''Raphus cucullatus'') is an extinct flightless bird that was endemic to the island of Mauritius, which is east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. The dodo's closest genetic relative was the also-extinct Rodrigues solitaire. ...
ever seen in Europe; but by 1755 the stuffed dodo was so moth-eaten that it was destroyed, except for its head and one claw.


Beaumont Street

The present building dates from 1841 to 1845. It was designed as the University Galleries by Charles Cockerell in a classical style and stands on Beaumont Street. One wing of the building is occupied by the
Taylor Institution The Taylor Institution (commonly known as the Taylorian) is the Oxford University library dedicated to the study of the languages of Europe. Its building also includes lecture rooms used by the Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, Univ ...
, the modern languages faculty of the university, standing on the corner of Beaumont Street and St Giles' Street. This wing of the building was also designed by Charles Cockerell, using the Ionic order of Greek architecture.
Sir Arthur Evans Sir Arthur John Evans (8 July 1851 – 11 July 1941) was a British archaeologist and pioneer in the study of Aegean civilization in the Bronze Age. He is most famous for unearthing the palace of Knossos on the Greek island of Crete. Based on ...
, who was appointed keeper in 1884 and retired in 1908, is largely responsible for the current museum. Evans found that the Keeper and the Vice-Chancellor ( Prof Benjamin Jowett) had managed to lose half of the Ashmole collection and had converted the original building into the Examination Rooms.
Charles Drury Edward Fortnum Charles Drury Edward Fortnum (1820–1899), often known as C. Drury E. Fortnum, was an English art collector and historian, known as a benefactor of the University of Oxford. Life Born on 2 March 1820, Fortnum was the surviving son of Charles For ...
had offered to donate his personal collection of antiques on condition that the museum was put on a sound footing. A donation of £10,000 from Fortnum (£ as of ) enabled Evans to build an extension to the University Galleries and move the Ashmolean collection there in 1894. In 1908, the Ashmolean and the University Galleries were combined as the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology. The museum became a depository for some of the important archaeological finds from Evans' excavations in Crete. After the various specimens had been moved into new museums, the "Old Ashmolean" building was used as office space for the '' Oxford English Dictionary''. Since 1924, the building has been established as the
Museum of the History of Science The History of Science Museum in Broad Street, Oxford, England, holds a leading collection of scientific instruments from Middle Ages to the 19th century. The museum building is also known as the Old Ashmolean Building to distinguish it from t ...
, with exhibitions including the scientific instruments given to Oxford University by Lewis Evans, amongst them the world's largest collection of
astrolabe An astrolabe ( grc, ἀστρολάβος ; ar, ٱلأَسْطُرلاب ; persian, ستاره‌یاب ) is an ancient astronomical instrument that was a handheld model of the universe. Its various functions also make it an elaborate inclin ...
s.
Charles Buller Heberden Charles Buller Heberden (14 December 1849 – 30 May 1921) was an English classical scholar and academic administrator. He was principal of Brasenose College, Oxford (1889–1920) and served as Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University. Life He was ...
left £1,000 (£ as of ) to the university in 1921, which was used for the Coin Room at the museum. In 2012, the Ashmolean was awarded a grant of $1.1m by the
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation of New York City in the United States, simply known as Mellon Foundation, is a private foundation with five core areas of interest, and endowed with wealth accumulated by Andrew Mellon of the Mellon family of Pitts ...
to establish the University Engagement Programme or UEP. The programme employs three teaching curators and a programme director to develop the use of the museum's collections in the teaching and research of the university.


Renovations

The interior of the Ashmolean has been extensively modernised in recent years and now includes a restaurant and large gift shop. In 2000, the Chinese Picture Gallery, designed by van Heyningen and Haward Architects, opened at the entrance of the Ashmolean and is partly integrated into the structure. It was inserted into a lightwell in the Grade 1 listed building, and was designed to support future construction from its roof. Apart from the original Cockerell spaces, this gallery was the only part of the museum retained in the rebuilding. The gallery houses the Ashmolean's own collection and is also used from time to time for the display of loan exhibitions and works by contemporary Chinese artists. It is the only museum gallery in Britain devoted to Chinese paintings. The Sackler Library, incorporating the older library collections of the Ashmolean, opened in 2001 and has allowed an expansion of the book collection, which concentrates on classical civilization, archaeology and art history. Between 2006 and 2009, the museum was expanded to the designs of architect
Rick Mather Rick Mather (May 30, 1937 – April 20, 2013) was an American-born architect working in England. Born in Portland, Oregon and awarded a B.arch. at the University of Oregon in 1961, he came to London in 1963 and worked at the architectural firm ...
and the exhibition design company
Metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wit ...
, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund. The $98.2 million rebuilding resulted in five floors instead of three, with a doubling of the display space, as well as new conservation studios and an education centre. The renovated museum re-opened on 7 November 2009. On 26 November 2011, the Ashmolean opened to the public the new galleries of Ancient Egypt and Nubia. This second phase of major redevelopment now allows the museum to exhibit objects that have been in storage for decades, more than doubling the number of coffins and mummies on display. The project received lead support from Lord Sainsbury's Linbury Trust, along with the Selz Foundation, Mr Christian Levett, as well as other trusts, foundations, and individuals. Rick Mather Architects led the redesign and display of the four previous Egypt galleries and the extension to the restored Ruskin Gallery, previously occupied by the museum shop. In May 2016, the museum opened new galleries dedicated to the display of its collection of Victorian art. This development allowed for the return to the Ashmolean of the Great Bookcase, designed by William Burges, and described as "the most important example of Victorian painted furniture ever made.".


Collections

The main museum contains huge collections of
archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
specimens and fine art. It has one of the best collections of
Pre-Raphaelite The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (later known as the Pre-Raphaelites) was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, Jam ...
paintings, majolica pottery, and English silver. The archaeology department includes the bequest of
Arthur Evans Sir Arthur John Evans (8 July 1851 – 11 July 1941) was a British archaeologist and pioneer in the study of Aegean civilization in the Bronze Age. He is most famous for unearthing the palace of Knossos on the Greek island of Crete. Based on t ...
and so has an excellent collection of Greek and Minoan pottery. The department also has an extensive collection of antiquities from Ancient Egypt and the Sudan, and the museum hosts the
Griffith Institute The Griffith Institute is an Egyptological institution based in the Griffith Wing of the Sackler Library and is part of the Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford, England. It was founded for the advancement of Egyptology and Ancient N ...
for the advancement of
Egyptology Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , ''-logia''; ar, علم المصريات) is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious ...
. Highlights of the Ashmolean's collection include: * Drawings by Michelangelo, Raphael and Leonardo da Vinci * Paintings by Pablo Picasso,
Giambattista Pittoni Giambattista Pittoni or Giovanni Battista Pittoni (6 June 1687 – 6 November 1767) was a Venetian painter of the late Baroque or Rococo period. He was among the founders of the Academy of Fine Arts of Venice, of which in 1758 he became the ...
, Paolo Uccello,
Anthony van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (, many variant spellings; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Duchy of Brabant, Brabantian Flemish Baroque painting, Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Sou ...
, Peter Paul Rubens, Paul Cézanne, John Constable, Titian,
Claude Lorrain Claude Lorrain (; born Claude Gellée , called ''le Lorrain'' in French; traditionally just Claude in English; c. 1600 – 23 November 1682) was a French painter, draughtsman and etcher of the Baroque era. He spent most of his life in It ...
, Samuel Palmer,
John Singer Sargent John Singer Sargent (; January 12, 1856 – April 14, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian-era luxury. He created roughly 900 oil paintings and mor ...
,
Piero di Cosimo Piero di Cosimo (2 January 1462 – 12 April 1522), also known as Piero di Lorenzo, was an Italian painter of the Renaissance. He is most famous for the mythological and allegorical subjects he painted in the late Quattrocento; he is said to ...
,
William Holman Hunt William Holman Hunt (2 April 1827 – 7 September 1910) was an English painter and one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. His paintings were notable for their great attention to detail, vivid colour, and elaborate symbolism ...
, and Edward Burne-Jones * The
Alfred Jewel The Alfred Jewel is a piece of Anglo-Saxon goldsmithing work made of enamel and quartz enclosed in gold. It was discovered in 1693, in North Petherton, Somerset, England and is now one of the most popular exhibits at the Ashmolean Museum in Ox ...
* Watercolours and paintings by
J. M. W. Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbul ...
* The
Messiah Stradivarius The ''Messiah - Salabue Stradivarius'' of 1716 is a violin made by the Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari of Cremona. It is considered to be the only Stradivarius in existence in ''as new'' state. It is in the collection of the Ashmolean Museum i ...
, a violin made by
Antonio Stradivari Antonio Stradivari (, also , ; – 18 December 1737) was an Italian luthier and a craftsman of string instruments such as violins, cellos, guitars, violas and harps. The Latinized form of his surname, ''Stradivarius'', as well as the colloquia ...
* The Daisy Linda Ward bequest in 1939 of 96 still life paintings, including works by
Clara Peeters Clara Peeters (active 1607–1621) was a Flemish still-life painter from Antwerp who worked in both the Spanish Netherlands and Dutch Republic. Peeters is the best-known female Flemish artist of this era and one of the few women artists workin ...
, Adriaen Coorte, and
Rachel Ruysch Rachel Ruysch (3 June 1664 – 12 October 1750) was a Dutch still-life painter from the Northern Netherlands. She specialized in flowers, inventing her own style and achieving international fame in her lifetime. Due to a long and successful caree ...
* The Pissarro Family Archive, donated in the 1950s to the Ashmolean, consisting of paintings, prints, drawings, books, and letters by
Camille Pissarro Jacob Abraham Camille Pissarro ( , ; 10 July 1830 – 13 November 1903) was a Danish-French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter born on the island of St Thomas (now in the US Virgin Islands, but then in the Danish West Indies). Hi ...
,
Lucien Pissarro Lucien Pissarro (20 February 1863 – 10 July 1944) was a landscape painter, printmaker, wood engraver and designer and printer of fine books. His landscape paintings employ techniques of Impressionism and Neo-Impressionism, but he also exhib ...
,
Orovida Camille Pissarro Orovida Pissarro (8 October 1893 – 8 August 1968), known for most of her life as Orovida, was a British painter and etcher. For most of her career she distanced herself from the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist styles of her father, Lucie ...
, and other members of the Pissarro family * Arab ceremonial dress owned by
Lawrence of Arabia Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British archaeologist, army officer, diplomat, and writer who became renowned for his role in the Arab Revolt (1916–1918) and the Sinai and Palestine Campaign (1915–1918 ...
* A death mask of Oliver Cromwell * The
Crondall hoard The Crondall Hoard is a hoard of coins and other articles that was found in the village of Crondall in the English county of Hampshire. The hoard was discovered in 1828 and is believed to date to the seventh century. It was the largest hoard of Ang ...
, a rare set of
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wit ...
gold coins discovered in 1828 * A substantial number of
Oxyrhynchus Papyri The Oxyrhynchus Papyri are a group of manuscripts discovered during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries by papyrologists Bernard Pyne Grenfell and Arthur Surridge Hunt at an ancient rubbish dump near Oxyrhynchus in Egypt (, moder ...
, including
Old Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England * Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, M ...
and New Testament
biblical manuscripts A biblical manuscript is any handwritten copy of a portion of the text of the Bible. Biblical manuscripts vary in size from tiny scrolls containing individual verses of the Jewish scriptures (see ''Tefillin'') to huge polyglot codices (multi-ling ...
* Over 30 pieces of Late Roman gold glass roundels from the
Catacombs of Rome The Catacombs of Rome ( it, Catacombe di Roma) are ancient catacombs, underground burial places in and around Rome, of which there are at least forty, some rediscovered only in recent decades. Though most famous for Christian burials, either ...
, the 3rd largest collection after the Vatican and British Museum. * A collection of
Posie ring Posie rings (sometimes spelled posy, posey or poesy rings) are gold finger rings with a short inscription on their surface. They were popular during the 15th through the 17th centuries in both England and France as lovers' gifts. The language use ...
s. * An extensive collection of antiquities from Prehistoric Egypt and the succeeding Early Dynastic Period of Egypt * The
Parian Marble Parian marble is a fine-grained semi translucent pure-white and entirely flawless marble quarried during the classical era on the Greek island of Paros in the Aegean Sea. It was highly prized by ancient Greeks for making sculptures. Some of the ...
, the earliest extant example of a Greek chronological table * The
Metrological Relief The Metrological Relief is an Ancient Greek relief of a man with arms outstretched, cut with hammer and chisel on a triangular, marble slab between 460 and 430 BC. It was found in Turkey or the Greek Islands in 1625–26 AD by a chaplain ca ...
, showing Ancient Greek measurements * The ceremonial cloak of
Chief Powhatan Powhatan ( c. 1547 – c. 1618), whose proper name was Wahunsenacawh (alternately spelled Wahunsenacah, Wahunsunacock or Wahunsonacock), was the leader of the Powhatan, an alliance of Algonquian-speaking Native Americans living in Tsenacommacah ...
* The lantern that Gunpowder Plot conspirator
Guy Fawkes Guy Fawkes (; 13 April 1570 – 31 January 1606), also known as Guido Fawkes while fighting for the Spanish, was a member of a group of provincial English Catholics involved in the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605. He was born and educated ...
carried in 1605 * The Minoan collection of
Arthur Evans Sir Arthur John Evans (8 July 1851 – 11 July 1941) was a British archaeologist and pioneer in the study of Aegean civilization in the Bronze Age. He is most famous for unearthing the palace of Knossos on the Greek island of Crete. Based on t ...
, the biggest outside
Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cypru ...
* The Narmer Macehead and Scorpion Macehead * The
Kish tablet The Kish tablet is a limestone tablet found at the site of the ancient Sumerian city of Kish in modern-day Tell al-Uhaymir, Babil Governorate, Iraq. A plaster-cast of the artifact is today in the collection of the Ashmolean Museum. The original ...
*The Sumerian Kings List * The Abingdon Sword, an Anglo-Saxon sword found at Abingdon south of Oxford * The Dalboki hoard of Thracian artefacts, central Bulgaria * The Scythian antiquities from Nymphaeum, Crimea Recent major bequests and acquisitions include: * In 2017 the museum acquired a group portrait by William Dobson painted in Oxford around 1645, during the English Civil War. The group in the painting are
Prince Rupert Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 (O.S.) / 27 December (N.S.) – 29 November 1682 (O.S.)) was an English army officer, admiral, scientist and colonial governor. He first came to prominence as a Royalist cavalr ...
, Colonel William Legge (Governor of Oxford) and Colonel John Russell (commander of the prince's elite Blue Coats). The painting was acquired for the nation through the Acceptance in Lieu scheme, administered by
Arts Council England Arts Council England is an arm's length non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is also a registered charity. It was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council of Great Britain was divided into three se ...
. * In 2017 the museum acquired a Viking hoard that was discovered near Watlington in South Oxfordshire in 2015. It is the first large Viking hoard discovered in Oxfordshire, which once lay on the border of Wessex and
Mercia la, Merciorum regnum , conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia , common_name=Mercia , status=Kingdom , status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879)Client state of Wessex () , life_span=527–918 , era=Heptarchy , event_start= , date_start= , ye ...
. The hoard contains over 200
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wit ...
coins, including many examples of previously rare coins of
Alfred the Great Alfred the Great (alt. Ælfred 848/849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who b ...
, King of Wessex (871–899) and his less well-known contemporary, King Ceolwulf II of Mercia (874–879). * In 2015 the Ashmolean raised the money needed to acquire a major painting by
J. M. W. Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbul ...
. With lead support from the Heritage Lottery Fund, a grant from the
Art Fund Art Fund (formerly the National Art Collections Fund) is an independent membership-based British charity, which raises funds to aid the acquisition of artworks for the nation. It gives grants and acts as a channel for many gifts and bequests, as ...
, and a public appeal, the fundraising target was met to secure Turner's only full-size townscape in oils: ''The High Street, Oxford'' (1810). The painting was accepted by the nation through the Acceptance in Lieu scheme. * In October 2014 the Ashmolean acquired a painting by John Constable titled ''Willy Lott's House from the Stour'' (The Valley Farm). The painting was accepted by the nation through the Acceptance in Lieu scheme. The farm building depicted in the painting is also seen from a different angle in ''
The Hay Wain ''The Hay Wain'' – originally titled ''Landscape: Noon'' – is a painting by John Constable, completed in 1821, which depicts a rural scene on the River Stour between the English counties of Suffolk and Essex. It hangs in the National Galler ...
'', painted 1821 and now at the National Gallery. * In October 2014 the Ashmolean acquired a collection of historic English embroideries which was given to the museum by collectors Micheál and Elizabeth Feller. The gift comprises 61 pieces which span the whole of the seventeenth century. * In late 2013, art historian and collector Michael Sullivan bequeathed his collection of more than 400 works of art to the museum. The collection, which includes paintings by Chinese masters
Qi Baishi Qi Baishi (1 January 1864 – 16 September 1957) was a Chinese painter, noted for the whimsical, often playful style of his works. Born to a peasant family from Xiangtan, Hunan, Qi taught himself to paint, sparked by the Manual of the Must ...
,
Zhang Daqian Chang Dai-chien or Zhang Daqian (; 10 May 1899 – 2 April 1983) was one of the best-known and most prodigious Chinese artists of the twentieth century. Originally known as a '' guohua'' (traditionalist) painter, by the 1960s he was also renowned ...
, and
Wu Guanzhong Wu Guanzhong (; 29 August 1919 – 25 June 2010) was a contemporary Chinese painter widely recognized as a founder of modern Chinese painting. He is considered to be one of the greatest contemporary Chinese painters. Wu's artworks display both ...
, was considered one of the world's most significant collections of modern Chinese art. The museum has a gallery dedicated to Sullivan and his wife Khoan. * In 2013 the museum was given the sculpture ''Taichi Arch'' by Taiwanese artist
Ju Ming use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , body_discovered = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates ...
, which was installed on the museum's main forecourt. It was given to the museum by the Juming Culture and Education Foundation in memory of art historian and collector Michael Sullivan. * In 2012 the museum was left a 500-piece collection of gold and silver
objets d'art In art history, the French term Objet d’art describes an ornamental work of art, and the term Objets d’art describes a range of works of art, usually small and three-dimensional, made of high-quality materials, and a finely-rendered finish th ...
, including many pieces of Renaissance silverware, assembled by the antique dealer Michael Welby. * In 2012 the museum acquired Édouard Manet's ''Portrait of Mademoiselle Claus'', painted in 1868, after a public campaign to raise £7.83million while a temporary export bar was placed on it by the RCEWA The campaign received £5.9m from the Heritage Lottery Fund, and a grant of £850,000 from The Art Fund.


Collections gallery

File:BrightonPierrotsWalterSickert.jpg, ''The
Brighton Pierrots ''Brighton Pierrots'' is a 1915 painting by Walter Sickert that depicts an outdoor theatrical performance. It is an oil on canvas measuring 63.5 x 76.2 cm and is in the Tate Britain. In the painting, the Pierrots are seen from the side and ...
'', 1915, by Walter Sickert File:Alfred Jewel Ashmolean 2014.JPG, The
Alfred Jewel The Alfred Jewel is a piece of Anglo-Saxon goldsmithing work made of enamel and quartz enclosed in gold. It was discovered in 1693, in North Petherton, Somerset, England and is now one of the most popular exhibits at the Ashmolean Museum in Ox ...
File:Edward Burne-Jones, ‘Music’, 1877. Oil on canvas.jpg, ''Music'', 1877, by Edward Burne-Jones File:Ceremonial Palette from Hierakonpolis-2.jpg, The "Two Dog Palette" from Hierakonpolis File:Messiah Stradivarius.jpg, The
Messiah Stradivarius The ''Messiah - Salabue Stradivarius'' of 1716 is a violin made by the Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari of Cremona. It is considered to be the only Stradivarius in existence in ''as new'' state. It is in the collection of the Ashmolean Museum i ...
violin File:Edouard Manet - Portrait of Mademoiselle Claus.jpg, ''Portrait of Mademoiselle Claus'', by Édouard Manet File:Narmer Macehead.png, The Narmer Macehead File:Raffaello, studio per la trasfigurazione 02.jpg, ''Studies of the Heads of two Apostles and of their Hands'', by Raphael File:Paolo Uccello - The Hunt in the Forest - WGA23239.jpg, ''
The Hunt in the Forest ''The Hunt in the Forest'' (also known as ''The Hunt by Night'' or simply ''The Hunt'') is a painting by the Italian artist Paolo Uccello, made around 1470. It is perhaps the best-known painting in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, England. The pai ...
'' by Paolo Uccello File:Sobek Oxford.jpg, Statue of Sobek, the crocodile god, from the pyramid temple of
Amenemhat III :''See Amenemhat, for other individuals with this name.'' Amenemhat III ( Ancient Egyptian: ''Ỉmn-m-hꜣt'' meaning 'Amun is at the forefront'), also known as Amenemhet III, was a pharaoh of ancient Egypt and the sixth king of the Twelfth Dy ...
File:Leighton, Frederic - Acme and Septimius - c. 1868.jpg, ''Acme and Septimius'', c. 1868, by Frederic Leighton, 1st Baron Leighton File:The Sumerian King List, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.jpg, The Sumerian Kings List, dating to approximately 1800 BC File:0 Gemma Tiberiana - Rubens - Ashmolean Museum - WA1989.74.JPG, The ''Apotheosis of Germanicus'', a copy after an antique Cameo painted in 1626 by Peter Paul Rubens File:Oliver Cromwell death mask- Ashmolean Museum.jpg, A death mask of Oliver Cromwell File:Millais - Die Rückkehr der Taube zur Arche Noah.jpg, '' The Return of the Dove to the Ark'', 1851, by Sir John Everett Millais File:Tragic mask dating to the 1st century BC or 1st century AD, Ashmolean Museum (8400677139).jpg, A Greek tragic mask dating to the 1st century BC or 1st century AD. File:Jeanne Holding a Fan, c.1874, by Camille Pissarro. Oil on canvas, The Ashmolean Museum,.jpg, ''Jeanne Holding a Fan'', an oil on canvas painting by
Camille Pissarro Jacob Abraham Camille Pissarro ( , ; 10 July 1830 – 13 November 1903) was a Danish-French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter born on the island of St Thomas (now in the US Virgin Islands, but then in the Danish West Indies). Hi ...
, c.1874 File:Heilige Familie mit dem Johannesknaben (Ashmolean Museum).jpg, ''The Holy Family with St John the Baptist'', brush and brown wash on panel by Michelangelo File:Tombstone, the doctor Claudius Agathemerus and his wife Myrtale, from Rome, about AD 100, Ashmolean Museum (8401778336).jpg, Tombstone, the doctor Claudius Agathemerus and his wife Myrtale, from Rome, about AD 100 File:Millais Ruskin.jpg, ''Portrait of
John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and poli ...
'' by John Everett Millais File:Powhatan's mantle, lithography 1888.jpg, The Mantle of
Chief Powhatan Powhatan ( c. 1547 – c. 1618), whose proper name was Wahunsenacawh (alternately spelled Wahunsenacah, Wahunsunacock or Wahunsonacock), was the leader of the Powhatan, an alliance of Algonquian-speaking Native Americans living in Tsenacommacah ...
, dating to the 17th century File:Abingdon Sword 2014.JPG, The Abingdon Sword, dating from the late 9th or early 10th century File:Paolo uccello, annunciazione, ashmolean.jpg, ''The Annunciation'', attributed to Paolo Uccello File:Van Gogh - Das Restaurant de la Sirène in Asnières.jpeg, ''Restaurant de la Sirène, Asnières'', by
Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inclu ...
File:Pierre-Auguste Renoir 029.jpg, ''A Garden in Montmartre'' by
Pierre-Auguste Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that "Re ...
File:Young Englishwoman, costume study by Hans Holbein the Younger.jpg, ''Young Englishwoman'', a costume study by Hans Holbein the Younger File:Samuel Palmer - Self-Portrait - WGA16951.jpg, A ''self-portrait'' by Samuel Palmer File:Domitianus II obverse ashmolean (edited).JPG, A coin of Domitianus II File:Ashmolean Museum (8401780654).jpg, Egyptian Mummy Portrait File:Pinturicchio Virgen con niño Ashmolean Museum.jpg, ''The Virgin and Child'', by Bernardino Pintoricchio File:Cycladic figurine female, 2800–2300 BC, AshmoleanM, AE 178, 142426.jpg, Early
Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...
Cycladic art The ancient Cycladic culture flourished in the islands of the Aegean Sea from c. 3300 to 1100 BCE. Along with the Minoan civilization and Mycenaean Greece, the Cycladic people are counted among the three major Aegean cultures. Cycladic art ther ...
figurine, 2800–2300 BC. File:Tableta con trillo.png, The
Kish tablet The Kish tablet is a limestone tablet found at the site of the ancient Sumerian city of Kish in modern-day Tell al-Uhaymir, Babil Governorate, Iraq. A plaster-cast of the artifact is today in the collection of the Ashmolean Museum. The original ...
File:Guyfawkeslantern.jpg,
Guy Fawkes Guy Fawkes (; 13 April 1570 – 31 January 1606), also known as Guido Fawkes while fighting for the Spanish, was a member of a group of provincial English Catholics involved in the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605. He was born and educated ...
' Lantern, London, England c. 1605 Iron and horn


Arundel Marbles

Image:So-called Cicero excavated by the Earl of Arundel in Rome between 1613 and 1614 MH.jpg, So-called Cicero excavated by the Earl of Arundel in Rome between 1613 and 1614 Image:Closeup of So-called Cicero excavated by the Earl of Arundel in Rome between 1613 and 1614 MH.jpg, So-called Cicero excavated by the Earl of Arundel in Rome between 1613 and 1614 Image:Man wearing a toga excavated in Rome 1613-1614 and later given the name "Caius Marius" MH.jpg, Man wearing a toga excavated in Rome 1613-1614 and later given the name "Caius Marius" Image:First century CE togate torso bearing a 17th century CE head dubbed Caius Marius by the Earl of Arundel excavated in 1613-1614 CE MH.jpg, First century CE togate torso bearing a 17th century CE head dubbed Caius Marius by the Earl of Arundel excavated in 1613-1614 CE Image:Statue of a woman with hairstyle dating to the later Roman Republican or Augustan period but body dating to 200-100 BCE MH.jpg, Statue of a woman with hairstyle dating to the later Roman Republican or Augustan period but body dating to 200-100 BCE Image:Closeup of Statue of a woman with hairstyle dating to the later Roman Republican or Augustan period but body dating to 200-100 BCE MH.jpg, Closeup of Statue of a woman with hairstyle dating to the later Roman Republican or Augustan period but body dating to 200-100 BCE Image:The Oxford Bust or "Sappho" with head and torso coming from different statues and probably put together by a sculptor in the 1600s MH.jpg, The Oxford Bust or "Sappho" with head and torso coming from different statues and probably put together by a sculptor in the 1600s Image:The Oxford Bust or "Sappho" with head and torso coming from different statues and probably put together by a sculptor in the 1600s View 2 MH.jpg, The Oxford Bust or "Sappho" with head and torso coming from different statues and probably put together by a sculptor in the 1600s View 2 Image:Portrait of a young man with hairstyle, facial features and long neck pointing to portraits made in the early 100s CE MH.jpg, Portrait of a young man with hairstyle, facial features and long neck pointing to portraits made in the early 100s CE Image:Sphinx commissioned by the Earl of Arundel to partner a Roman Sphinx, 17th century CE MH.jpg, Sphinx commissioned by the Earl of Arundel to partner a Roman Sphinx, 17th century CE Image:Sphinx, Roman, 50-200 CE Arundel Marble MH.jpg, Sphinx, Roman, 50-200 CE. Image:Roman statue of Eros, 100-200 CE Arundel Marble MH.jpg, Roman statue of Eros, 100-200 CE depicting Eros sleeping, his torch turned down, a symbol of death used in many Roman memorials. Image:Closeup of Roman statue of Eros, 100-200 CE Arundel Marble MH.jpg, Closeup of Roman statue of Eros, 100-200 CE depicting Eros sleeping, his torch turned down, a symbol of death used in many Roman memorials. Image:Fragment of a marble sarcophagus depicting two drunken boys from a Bacchic revel, made in Athens 140-150 CE MH.jpg, Fragment of a marble sarcophagus depicting two drunken boys from a Bacchic revel, made in Athens 140-150 CE


Broadway Museum and Art Gallery

In 2013 a museum was opened in the 17th-century "Tudor House" at
Broadway, Worcestershire Broadway is a large village and civil parish in the Cotswolds, England, with a population of 2,540 at the 2011 census. It is in the far southeast of Worcestershire, close to the Gloucestershire border, midway between Evesham and Moreton-in-Marsh ...
, in the Cotswolds, in partnership with the Ashmolean Museum. In 2017 the museum became known as the Broadway Museum and Art Gallery. The collection includes paintings and furniture from the founding collections of the Ashmolean Museum, given by Elias Ashmole to the University of Oxford in 1683, and local exhibits expand upon elements of the timeline of the village.


Major exhibitions

Upcoming planned exhibitions include: * ''Labyrinth: Knossos, Myth and Reality'': This exhibition opens at the Ashmolean in February 2023. * ''Pre-Raphaelites: Drawings & Watercolours'': This exhibition, initially shown for a 5 weeks in 2021, was re-mounted in 2022 for a longer run, opening in July. It is drawn from the Ashmolean's own collection of
Pre-Raphaelite The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (later known as the Pre-Raphaelites) was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, Jam ...
drawings and watercolours. Major exhibitions in recent years include: * ''Pissarro: Father of Impressionism'': Open from February until June 2022, this exhibition included artworks drawn from the Ashmolean's collections as well as international loans, spanning
Camille Pissarro Jacob Abraham Camille Pissarro ( , ; 10 July 1830 – 13 November 1903) was a Danish-French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter born on the island of St Thomas (now in the US Virgin Islands, but then in the Danish West Indies). Hi ...
's entire career. * ''Tokyo: Art and Photography'': Open from July 2021 until January 2022, this exhibition included artworks from the Ashmolean's collection as well as loans from Japan and new commissions by contemporary artists. It included woodblock prints by Hokusai and Hiroshige, photography of Moriyama Daido and Ninagawa Mika. *''Pre-Raphaelites: Drawings & Watercolours'': Open in May and June 2021, this exhibition was drawn from the Ashmolean's own collection of
Pre-Raphaelite The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (later known as the Pre-Raphaelites) was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, Jam ...
drawings and watercolours. The exhibition was curated by British art historian Christiana Payne. *''Young Rembrandt'': Open from August until November 2020, this exhibition was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and featured more than 120 of
Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consi ...
's paintings, drawings and prints from international and private collections. It focused on the first decade of Rembrandt's work, from 1624–34, and included his early paintings
Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem ''Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem'' is a 1630 painting by Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and ...
,
Self-portrait in a Gorget ''Self-Portrait in a Gorget'' is a c.1629 oil on panel self-portrait by Rembrandt, now in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum The Germanisches National Museum is a museum in Nuremberg, Germany. Founded in 1852, it houses a large collection of item ...
, Rembrandt Laughing,
Judas Repentant, Returning the Pieces of Silver ''Judas Returning the Thirty Pieces of Silver'' is a painting by Rembrandt, now in Mulgrave Castle in Lythe, North Yorkshire. It depicts the story of Matthew 27:3: "Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented h ...
, Portrait of Jacques de Gheyn III, and History Painting. The exhibition was the subject of a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
television documentary, in its 2020 Museums in Quarantine series. * ''Last Supper in Pompeii'': Open from July 2019 until January 2020, this exhibition explored what the people of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii loved to eat and drink. Many of the objects, on loan from
Naples Museum The National Archaeological Museum of Naples ( it, Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli, italic=no, sometimes abbreviated to MANN) is an important Italian archaeological museum, particularly for ancient Roman remains. Its collection includes wor ...
and Pompeii, had never before left Italy. *''Jeff Koons at the Ashmolean'': Open from February until June 2019, this exhibition featured 17 major works by the American artist Jeff Koons, 14 of which had never been on display in the UK before. They included some of his most well-known series such as Equilibrium, Banality, Antiquity and his recent Gazing Ball paintings and sculptures. In the galleries of the museum, where the collections range from prehistory to the present, Jeff Koons's work was ‘in conversation’ with the history of art and ideas which has been his focus over the past four decades. The exhibition was curated by Koons and Norman Rosenthal. *''Spellbound: Magic, Ritual & Witchcraft'': Open from August 2018 until January 2019, this exhibition explored the history of magic over eight centuries. On display were 180 objects from 12th-century Europe to newly commissioned contemporary artworks. * ''America's Cool Modernism: O'Keeffe to Hopper'': Open from March until July 2018 this major exhibition of works by American artists in the early 20th-century included over 80 paintings, photographs and prints, and the first American avant-garde film,
Manhatta ''Manhatta'' (1921) is a short documentary film directed by painter Charles Sheeler and photographer Paul Strand. Production background ''Manhatta'' documents the look of early 20th-century Manhattan. With the city as subject, the film consist ...
. Many of the paintings had never before travelled outside the USA. * ''Imagining the Divine: Art and the Rise of World Religions'': Open from October 2017 until February 2018 this exhibition explored Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism, and was the first to look at the art of these five world religions as they spread across continents in the first millennium AD. * ''Raphael: The Drawings'': Open from June 2017 until September 2017 this exhibition brought together over a hundred works by Raphael from international collections and aimed to transform public understanding of Raphael through a focus on the immediacy and expressiveness of his drawing. * ''Degas to Picasso: Creating Modernism in France'': Open from February 2017 until May 2017, and featuring works by
Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known primar ...
, Manet,
Chagall Marc Chagall; russian: link=no, Марк Заха́рович Шага́л ; be, Марк Захаравіч Шагал . (born Moishe Shagal; 28 March 1985) was a Russian-French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with se ...
,
Braque Georges Braque ( , ; 13 May 1882 – 31 August 1963) was a major 20th-century French painter, collagist, draughtsman, printmaker and sculptor. His most notable contributions were in his alliance with Fauvism from 1905, and the role he play ...
, Delacroix, Renoir, Metzinger, Degas, Léger and Picasso, this exhibition told the story of the rise of Modernism through works from a private collection that had never been seen in Britain before. * ''Power and Protection: Islamic Art and the Supernatural'': Open from October 2016 until January 2017, this was the first major exhibition to explore the supernatural in the art of the Islamic world. The exhibition included objects and works of art from the 12th to the 20th century, from Morocco to China, which have been used as sources of guidance and protection in the dramatic events of human history. These include dream-books, talismanic charts and amulets. * ''Storms, War and Shipwrecks: Treasures from the Sicilian Seas'': Open from June until September 2016, this exhibition explored the roots of Sicily's multi-cultural heritage through the discoveries made by underwater archaeologists – from chance finds to excavated shipwrecks. The exhibition will also featured what has been described as a "flat pack"
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
church interior, intended for assembly at its destination, with marble items raised from a wreck off the southeast coast of Sicily in the 1960s by archaeologist Gerhard Kapitan. * ''Andy Warhol: Works from the Hall Collection'': Open from February until May 2016, this exhibition featured over a hundred works, by
Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the Art movement, visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore th ...
, from the Hall Collection (USA), plus loans of films from
The Andy Warhol Museum The Andy Warhol Museum is located on the North Shore of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is the largest museum in North America dedicated to a single artist. The museum holds an extensive permanent collection of art and archive ...
, Pittsburgh. Curated by Sir Norman Rosenthal, the exhibition spanned Warhol's entire output, from iconic pieces of the 1960s Pop pioneer to the experimental works of his last decade. *''Elizabeth Price: A RESTORATION'': Open from March until May 2016, this two-screen video installation by British artist Elizabeth Price was a newly commissioned work in response to the collections and archives of the Ashmolean and Pitt Rivers museums, in partnership with the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, and funded by the 2013
Contemporary Art Society The Contemporary Art Society (CAS) is an independent charity that champions the collecting of outstanding contemporary art and craft for UK museum collections. Since its founding in 1910 the organisation has donated over 10,000 works to museum ...
Award. The main focus was the records of
Arthur Evans Sir Arthur John Evans (8 July 1851 – 11 July 1941) was a British archaeologist and pioneer in the study of Aegean civilization in the Bronze Age. He is most famous for unearthing the palace of Knossos on the Greek island of Crete. Based on t ...
’s excavation of the Cretan city of Knossos. * ''Drawing in Venice: Titian to Canaletto'': Open from October 2015 until January 2016, this exhibition featured a hundred drawings from The
Uffizi The Uffizi Gallery (; it, Galleria degli Uffizi, italic=no, ) is a prominent art museum located adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy. One of the most important Italian museums ...
Gallery in Florence, the Ashmolean, and
Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...
. It was based on new research tracing continuities in Venetian drawing over three centuries, from around 1500 down to the foundation of the first academy of art in Venice in 1750. The exhibition also featured 20 works on paper and canvas by contemporary artist
Jenny Saville Jennifer Anne Saville (born 7 May 1970) is a contemporary British painter and an original member of the Young British Artists.Royal Academy of ArtsJenny Saville RA , Artist , Royal Academy of Arts accessdate: 29 August 2014 Saville works and ...
, produced in response to the Venetian drawings in the exhibition. * ''Great British Drawings'': An exhibition open from March until August 2015 showing more than one hundred British drawings and watercolours from the Ashmolean's collection, spanning three hundred years. * ''An Elegant Society: Adam Buck, artist in the age of Jane Austen'': Open from July until October 2015 this exhibition explored the work of
Adam Buck Adam Buck (1759–1833) was an Irish neo-classical portraitist and miniature painter and engraver (as was his brother Frederick) principally active in London. Life Buck was born in Castle Street, Cork. Becoming an accomplished miniaturis ...
, Irish Regency era portrait and miniature painter. * ''Love Bites: Caricatures by James Gillray'': An exhibition in 2015 to mark the 200th anniversary of the death of British caricaturist James Gillray (1757–1815). The
caricatures A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, a ...
on display were from the collection of New College, Oxford. * ''William Blake: Apprentice and Master'': Open from December 2014 until March 2015, this exhibition celebrated the work of William Blake. * ''Discovering Tutankhamun'': a special exhibition, open from July until November 2014, explored Howard Carter’s excavation of the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922. Original records, drawings and photographs from the
Griffith Institute The Griffith Institute is an Egyptological institution based in the Griffith Wing of the Sackler Library and is part of the Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford, England. It was founded for the advancement of Egyptology and Ancient N ...
were on display. * ''The Eye of the Needle: English Embroideries from the Feller Collection'': a special exhibition, open from August until October 2014, of 17th-century embroideries from the ''Feller Collection'', together with examples from the Ashmolean’s own holdings. * ''Cézanne and the Modern'': a special exhibition, open from March to June 2014, displaying Impressionist and
Post-Impressionist Post-Impressionism (also spelled Postimpressionism) was a predominantly French art movement that developed roughly between 1886 and 1905, from the last Impressionist exhibition to the birth of Fauvism. Post-Impressionism emerged as a reaction aga ...
paintings and sketches from the Henry and Rose Pearlman Collection * ''Francis Bacon / Henry Moore: Flesh and Bone'': a special exhibition, open from September 2013 until July 2014, displaying paintings by Francis Bacon and sculptures and drawings by Henry Moore. * ''Stradivarius'': a special exhibition, open from June until August 2013, exploring the life and work of
Antonio Stradivari Antonio Stradivari (, also , ; – 18 December 1737) was an Italian luthier and a craftsman of string instruments such as violins, cellos, guitars, violas and harps. The Latinized form of his surname, ''Stradivarius'', as well as the colloquia ...
. It was the first time twenty-one of his instruments, from guitar to cello to violin, were on display together in the UK. * ''Master Drawings'': a special exhibition, open from May until August 2013, displaying a selection of the Ashmolean's on western art collection. The exhibition surveyed drawings of all types by some of the biggest names in art history, including Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphael, as well as Gwen John, David Hockney and Antony Gormley. * ''Xu Bing: Landscape Landscript'': a special exhibition of the work of
Xu Bing Xu Bing (; born 1955) is a Chinese artist who served as vice-president of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. He is known for his printmaking skills and installation art, as well as his creative artistic use of language, words, and text and how t ...
, open from February until May 2013. It was the Ashmolean's first major exhibition of contemporary art.


Keepers and Directors

Beginning in 1973, the position of Keeper was superseded by that of Director:


Notable people


Current keepers

*
Christopher Howgego Professor Christopher Howgego is a British numismatist and academic, who is the current keeper of the Heberden coin room at the Ashmolean Museum. He is also a Fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford, and Professor of Greek and Roman Numismatics at the U ...
, Keeper of the Heberden Coin Room * Mallica Kumbera Landrus, Keeper of Eastern Art * Paul Roberts, Sackler Keeper of Antiquities * Catherine Whistler, Keeper of Western Art


Former staff

*
Michael Metcalf David Michael Metcalf (8 May 1933 – 25 October 2018) was a British academic and numismatist. He was the director of the Heberden Coin Room of the Ashmolean Museum, a fellow of Wolfson College and Professor of Numismatics at the University of ...
, former Keeper of the Heberden Coin Room *
Joan Crowfoot Payne Joan Crowfoot Payne (16 January 1912 – 4 October 2002) was a British archaeologist specialising in the study of lithics (stone tools and chipped stone) from the Ancient Near East and worked as Cataloguer of the Ancient Egyptian collection at ...
, archaeologist and Cataloguer of the Egyptian and Nubian collectors (1957–1979) *
Jon Whiteley Jon James Lamont Whiteley (19 February 1945 – 16 May 2020) was a Scottish child film actor and in adult life a distinguished art historian. Life and career The Monymusk-born Whiteley appeared in five films during his brief acting career, a ...
, former Assistant Keeper of Western Art *
Susan Sherratt Susan Sherratt (born 26 September 1949) is Reader in Mediterranean Archaeology at the University of Sheffield. Her research focuses on the archaeology of the Bronze and Early Iron Ages of the Aegean, Cyprus and the eastern Mediterranean, especia ...
, former Assistant Curator and Honorary Research Assistant to the Arthur Evans Archive *
Andrew Sherratt Andrew George Sherratt (8 May 1946 – 24 February 2006) was an English archaeologist, one of the most influential of his generation. He was best known for his theory of the secondary products revolution. Early life and education Sherratt was ...
, former Assistant Keeper of Antiquities in the Ashmolean Museum


In popular culture


Comics

* The 21st book in the Belgian comics series ''
Blake and Mortimer ''Blake and Mortimer'' is a Belgian comics series created by the writer and comics artist Edgar P. Jacobs. It was one of the first series to appear in the Franco-Belgian comics magazine '' Tintin'' in 1946, and was subsequently published in boo ...
'', titled ''
The Oath of the Five Lords ''The Oath of the Five Lords'' is the twenty-first Blake and Mortimer book in the series. The story was written by Yves Sente. The book was drawn by André Juillard and was released on the 16 November 2012. Plot In 1919, Colonel Thomas Edward La ...
'', centres around a series of burglaries at the Ashmolean and their connection to
T. E. Lawrence Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British archaeologist, army officer, diplomat, and writer who became renowned for his role in the Arab Revolt (1916–1918) and the Sinai and Palestine Campaign (1915–1918 ...
.


Television

*The
Alfred Jewel The Alfred Jewel is a piece of Anglo-Saxon goldsmithing work made of enamel and quartz enclosed in gold. It was discovered in 1693, in North Petherton, Somerset, England and is now one of the most popular exhibits at the Ashmolean Museum in Ox ...
was the inspiration for the ''Inspector Morse'' episode "The
Wolvercote Wolvercote is a village that is part of the City of Oxford, England. It is about northwest of the city centre, on the northern edge of Wolvercote Common, which is itself north of Port Meadow and adjoins the River Thames. History The Domesd ...
Tongue" (1988), in which the museum's interior was used as a set. * The Ashmolean also figures prominently in several episodes of the successor series ''
Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * " Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohe ...
'', particularly the episode "Point of Vanishing" where the painting ''
The Hunt in the Forest ''The Hunt in the Forest'' (also known as ''The Hunt by Night'' or simply ''The Hunt'') is a painting by the Italian artist Paolo Uccello, made around 1470. It is perhaps the best-known painting in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, England. The pai ...
'' (ca. 1470) is a key plot element; the characters visit the painting at the museum and are instructed on its features by an art expert before solving the case.


Theft

On 31 December 1999, during the fireworks that accompanied the celebration of the
millennium A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannus, kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting ...
, thieves used scaffolding on an adjoining building to climb onto the roof of the museum and stole Cézanne’s landscape painting ''
View of Auvers-sur-Oise ''View of Auvers-sur-Oise'' is the common English name for a Paul Cézanne painting known by various French names, usually ''Paysage d'Auvers-sur-Oise'', or in the artist's ''catalogue raisonné'', ''Groupe de maisons, paysage d'île de France''. ...
''. Valued at £3 million, the painting has been described as an important work illustrating the transition from early to mature Cézanne painting. As the thieves ignored other works in the same room, and the stolen Cézanne has not been offered for sale, it is speculated that this was a case of an artwork stolen to order. The Cezanne has not been recovered and is one of the FBI's Top Ten Art Crimes.


See also

*
Museums of the University of Oxford A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...
*
Museum of Oxford The Museum of Oxford (MOX) is a history museum in Oxford, England, covering the history of the City and its people. The museum includes both permanent and temporary displays featuring artefacts relating to Oxford's history from prehistoric time ...
* Oxford University Museum of Natural History *
Bate Collection of Musical Instruments The Bate Collection of Musical Instruments is a collection of historic musical instruments, mainly for Western classical music, from the Middle Ages onwards. It is housed in Oxford University's Faculty of Music, University of Oxford, Faculty of ...
*
Christ Church Picture Gallery Christ Church Picture Gallery is an art gallery located inside Christ Church, a college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. The gallery holds an important collection of about 300 Old Master paintings and nearly 2,000 drawings. The ...
* Donation by Sultan bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud


References


External links

*
Sackler LibraryVirtual Tour of the Ashmolean Museum, photography from 2003
��pictures, description and history * {{Authority control Collections of classical sculpture Museums of the University of Oxford Art museums and galleries in Oxford Cultural infrastructure completed in 1845 1683 establishments in England Grade I listed buildings in Oxford History of the University of Oxford Grade I listed museum buildings Museums established in 1683 Museums of ancient Rome in the United Kingdom Museums of ancient Greece in the United Kingdom Asian art museums in the United Kingdom Museums of Ancient Near East in the United Kingdom Plaster cast collections Musical instrument museums in England University museums