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 built in 1678–1683 to
house the cabinet of
curiosities Elias Ashmole gave
Oxford
University
in
1677.
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 24 May 1683, with
naturalist
Robert Plot as the first keeper.
The first
building, which became known as the Old
Ashmolean
, is sometimes attributed to Sir Christopher Wren and Dr. R. T.
Gunther.
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.
Theft
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.
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 2009, the museum was extensively rebuilt and
expanded to the designs of architect
Rick
Mather and the exhibition design company Metaphor, supported by
the
Heritage Lottery Fund. The
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.
Collections
Highlights of the Ashmolean's collection include:
Keepers and Directors
Beginning in 1973, the position of Keeper was superseded by that of
Director:
- D. T. (later Sir David) Piper (1973 - 1985)
- Professor Sir Christopher White (1985 - 1997)
- Dr P.R.S. Moorey (Acting Director) (1997 - 1998)
- Dr Christopher Brown (1998 - )
In popular culture
- The
Alfred Jewel was the inspiration for the Inspector
Morse episode "The Wolvercote
Tongue", in which the museum's interior was used as
a set. The Ashmolean also figures prominently in several
episodes of the successor series Lewis.
Notes
- H. E. Salter and Mary D. Lobel (editors) Victoria
County History A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 3 1954
Pages 47-49
- Ashmolean Annual Report 1997-1998 Oxford
University Gazette (9 December 1998)
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