Ashmolean Museum

Information about Ashmolean Museum

Enlarge picture
Ashmolean Museum main entrance.


The Ashmolean Museum (in full the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology) on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is the world's first university museum. Its first building is sometimes attributed to Sir Christopher Wren, though there is no good evidence for this claim, and was built in 1678–1683 to house the collection or cabinet of curiosities Elias Ashmole gave Oxford University in 1677

Collection history

The works include that of Elias Ashmole, which he had collected himself as well as those he had acquired from the gardeners, travellers and collectors John Tradescant the elder and his son of the same name. The collection included antique coins, books, engravings, geological specimens, and zoological specimens — one of which was the stuffed body of the last Dodo ever seen in Europe, but by 1755 it was so moth-eaten it was destroyed, except for its head and one claw. The museum opened on 6 June 1683, with naturalist Robert Plot as the first keeper.

After the various specimens had been moved into new museums, the "Old Ashmolean" building on Broad Street was used as office space for the Oxford English Dictionary staff. Since 1935, the building has been established as the Museum of the History of Science, with exhibitions including the scientific instruments given to Oxford University by Lewis Evans (1853–1930), amongst them the world's largest collection of astrolabes.

The present building dates from 1845. It was designed by Charles Cockerell in a classical style and stands on Beaumont Street. One wing of the building is occupied by the Taylor Institution, the modern languages faculty of the university. The main museum contains the original collections of Elias Ashmole and John Tradescant (father and son), as well as huge collections of archaeology specimens and fine art. It has one of the best collections of Pre-Raphaelite paintings, majolica pottery and English silver. The archaeology department includes the bequest of Arthur Evans 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 for the advancement of Egyptology.

The museum is used as a set for the "The Wolvercote Tongue".

Renovation

The interior of the Ashmolean has been extensively modernised in recent years and now includes a restaurant and large gift shop. 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 2008, the museum is in a process of extensive rebuilding and expansion to the designs of architect Rick Mather, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund. As a consequence some of the galleries have been closed, though most of the highlights are still on show. The rebuilding will result in five floors instead of three, with a doubling of the display space as well as new conservation studios and an education centre. As of 2007 most of the exterior cleaning of the building to remove soot has been completed, and the construction work in the building is well under way.

Collections

Enlarge picture
The Alfred Jewel in the Ashmolean Museum.


Highlights of the collection include: On 31 December 1999 (New Year's Eve), thieves used scaffolding on an adjoining building to climb onto the roof of the Ashmolean to break through a skylight, stealing a painting by Cézanne. As the thieves ignored other works in the same room and it has not been offered for sale, it is speculated that this was a case of an artwork stolen to order.

Directors and Keepers

External links

Coordinates:
Beaumont Street is a street in the centre of Oxford, England. The street was laid out in the 1820s with elegant terraced houses in the Regency style. Before that, it was the location of Beaumont Palace.
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Oxford is a city and local government district in Oxfordshire, England, with a population of 134,248 (2001 census). It is home to the University of Oxford, the oldest university in the English-speaking world.
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Motto
Dieu et mon droit   (French)
"God and my right"
Anthem
No official anthem specific to England — the anthem of the United Kingdom is "God Save the Queen".
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university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees at all levels (bachelor, master, and doctorate) in a variety of subjects. A university provides both tertiary and quaternary education.
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museum is a "permanent institution in the service of society and of its development, open to the public, which acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits, for purposes of study, education, enjoyment, the tangible and intangible
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Sir Christopher Wren

Sir Christopher Wren in Godfrey Kneller's 1711 portrait
Born 20 September 1632(1632--)
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Cabinets of curiosities (also known as Wunderkammer or wonder-rooms) were collections of types of objects we now regard as quite separate, but whose boundaries were in the Renaissance yet to be defined.
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Elias Ashmole (23 May 1617–18 May 1692), the celebrated English antiquary, was a politician, officer of arms, student of astrology and alchemy, and an early speculative Freemason.
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University of Oxford (usually abbreviated as Oxon. for post-nominals, from "Oxoniensis"), located in the city of Oxford, England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world.
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Elias Ashmole (23 May 1617–18 May 1692), the celebrated English antiquary, was a politician, officer of arms, student of astrology and alchemy, and an early speculative Freemason.
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John Tradescant the elder (ca 1570s – 15/16 April, 1638), father of John Tradescant the younger, was an English naturalist, gardener, collector and traveller, probably born in Suffolk, England.
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John Tradescant the Younger (1608–1662), son of John Tradescant the elder, was a botanist and gardener, born in Meopham, Kent and educated at The King's School, Canterbury.
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Raphus
Brisson, 1760

Species: R. cucullatus

Binomial name
Raphus cucullatus
(Linnaeus, 1758)


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Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of the Earth. Physically and geologically, Europe is the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, west of Asia. Europe is bounded to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the Mediterranean Sea,
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June 6 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

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Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
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Natural history or (in Latin) Naturalis Historia is the scientific study of plants or animals.

Natural History may also refer to:

In science and medicine:
  • Natural History (Pliny), Naturalis Historia

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Robert Plot (13 December 1640–April 30 1696) was an English naturalist, first Professor of Chemistry at the University of Oxford, and the first keeper of the Ashmolean Museum.
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The Museum of the History of Science, located in Broad Street, Oxford, is home to a collection of historic scientific instruments and is the world's oldest surviving purpose-built museum building.
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The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is a dictionary published by the Oxford University Press (OUP), and is the most comprehensive dictionary of the English language.
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The Museum of the History of Science, located in Broad Street, Oxford, is home to a collection of historic scientific instruments and is the world's oldest surviving purpose-built museum building.
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Lewis Evans (1853–1930), English businessman and scientific instrument collector.

Lewis Evans was the son of Sir John Evans, an archaeologist, and younger brother the more famous archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans (1851–1941) who discovered Knossos in Crete.
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astrolabe is a historical astronomical instrument used by classical astronomers, navigators, and astrologers. Its many uses included locating and predicting the positions of the Sun, Moon, planets and stars; determining local time given local longitude and vice-versa; surveying;
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Charles Robert Cockerell (1788–1863) was an English architect, archaeologist, and writer. Early in his life, he trained in the architectural practice of his father, Samuel Pepys Cockerell.
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Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for classical antiquity, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seeks to emulate. The art of classicism typically seeks to be formal and restrained. It can also refer to the other periods of classicism.
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The Taylor Institution is Oxford University's centre and library for the study of modern European languages and literature, in Oxford, England.

It was established in 1845 having largely been funded by a bequest from the estate of notable English architect Sir Robert Taylor
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