Ashmolean Museum
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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 was designed by
Sir Christopher Wren and built in
1678–
1683 to house the collection of curiosities
Elias Ashmole gave
Oxford University in
1677 â€" the ones he had collected himself as well as those he had inherited from the travellers
John Tradescant, father and son. 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 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, 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.
Highlights of the collection include:
* The
Alfred Jewel* Drawings by
Michaelangelo,
Raphael and
Leonardo da Vinci* Watercolours and paintings by
Turner* Paintings by
Paolo Uccello,
Piero di Cosimo,
John Constable,
Claude Lorraine, and
Pablo Picasso* Arab ceremonial dress owned by
Lawrence of Arabia* A death mask of
Oliver Cromwell* The collection of
Posie rings that supposedly inspired
The One Ring in
J. R. R. Tolkien's
The Lord of the Rings* The
Parian Marble, the earliest extant example of a Greek chronological table
* The ceremonial cloak of Chief
Powhatan* The
lantern Gunpowder Plot conspiracist
Guy Fawkes carried in
1605On
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
CĂ©zanne. 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.
*
Robert Plot*
Edward Lhuyd*
Roger Moorey*
Ashmolean Museum website*
Sackler Library
