Meanwhile at the Oriental Institute in Chicago, a demon is trapped at the centre of an Aramaic curse written on an incantation bowl. You can almost hear the tiny, indignant squawking.
Aphrodite, Persephone, and Adonis relief 400-375 BCE. The J. Paul Getty Museum. Images from mharrsch on flickr and Getty Museum.
“This pair of terracotta altars depicts the death of Adonis, a God of vegetation, and the rituals that were celebrated in his honor. On the altar on the right, Adonis, looking weak, sits supported in the arms of his lover Aphrodite, the Goddess of love. Adonis was born of an incestuous love between the Assyrian king Theias and his daughter Myrrha; Aphrodite was smitten by the infant Adonis’s great beauty and hid him in a box (cista), which she entrusted to Persephone. When Persephone opened the box, she too fell in love with the beautiful infant and decided not to give him back to Aphrodite. Zeus interceded in the quarrel between the two Goddesses and ordered that Adonis should spend a third of the year with Aphrodite, a third with Persephone, and the last third wherever he liked— Adonis chose to devote that time to Aphrodite as well. The woman at bottom right, sitting on the box, is likely to be Persephone. On the left altar, three women rush to the scene, carrying musical instruments: a tympanum, or drum, and a xylophone.
Small terracotta altars such as these would have been used for private worship, perhaps to burn incense. This pair still bears traces of burning on its upper surfaces, as well as pigment used for decorating the relief figures. Stylistic features of the figures and their drapery, as well as the type of clay that was used, suggest that the altars were made in Medma, in Southern Italy.”
“At first glance, we might assume that this copy of a German print belongs in the Ashmolean’s collections of European art. But no. This is an Indian drawing, and is housed here in the Eastern Art department. And it’s not just any Indian drawing, but one of the greatest of the Mughal Empire."
In the series 2 finale of our Museum Secrets podcast, Keeper of Eastern Art Mallica Kumbera Landrus introduces us to the child genius behind this tiny drawing. This piece of paper, only 10cm high, tells a story of cultures embracing each other across vast distances and the curiosity of one exceptional 13-year-old boy in Mughal India, 421 years ago.
One of our most recent acquisitions at the Museum is this beautiful golden tea bowl by Japanese artist Ogawa Machiko (b. 1946).
Clare Pollard, our curator of Japanese Art, writes: ‘Ogawa’s work is characterised by the raw intensity of its materials. Many of her ceramics resemble strange and wonderful mineral formations or archaeological artefacts that have just been excavated from the earth. Even this carefully crafted bowl retains an elemental quality, as if scooped out of raw clay. The earthy cracks and deep fissures of the roughly textured exterior contrast with the creamy-smooth, matte gold flow of the interior, creating an intriguing, powerful dynamic between interior and exterior space. This one small tea bowl encompasses a whole spectrum of moods.’
Our recent Ashmolean Members’ Magazine featured an article on this object and the artist behind it. Become a Member for access to these magazines, as well as a host of other benefits and perks.
Part of the beauty of an object, or a museum collection, lies in its capacity to respond to more than one gaze and to unlock more than one story. We’re committed to hearing and telling as many of those stories as possible.
One of the ways we’re doing this is through ‘Our Museum: Our Voices’, a programme in which we asked 24 students to write alternative labels for objects on display in our galleries. The labels are written from personal experience as well as expertise, with participants considering their ethnicity, gender and sexuality in responding to the collections.
Keep an eye out for 'Our Museum: Our Voices’ labels as you roam the galleries during your next visit, and explore a virtual exhibition of the objects and their labels here: https://www.ashmolean.org/omov
Today is the 404th birthday of Elias Ashmole, the founder of the Ashmolean Museum.
Ashmole was a well-connected antiquary, government official, collector and student of alchemy. His own collection of coins and a magnificent library of books and manuscripts had been dramatically expanded in 1659 with the addition of a collection – both man-made and natural – assembled from around the world by John Tradescant the Elder and his son, John Tradescant the Younger.
Ashmole donated most of his collections to the University of Oxford in 1677, and when the Ashmolean opened in 1683, it was not just a repository and place for research and teaching but also a public museum. Ashmole’s vision ultimately laid the foundations for museums as we know them today.
Though our collection has evolved considerably, Ashmole’s founding principle remains: that knowledge of humanity across cultures and across times is important to society.
“Not all heroes wear capes: some ride around on a Mobile Elevated Working Platform, wear a back-mounted vacuum and have been said to resemble a young Sigourney Weaver from the final scenes of ‘Aliens’." While the Museum has been closed, our technician Tim has been taking advantage of the quiet galleries to do some rather unconventional cleaning and maintenance.
In this week’s story, find out how he’s been caring for our collections behind the scenes and helping us to prepare for reopening. Read 'Not All Heroes Wear Capes’ here: ashmolean.org/article/high-level-cleaning
“Demeter stands holding a royal sceptre and sheaf of wheat. She wears a crown upon her head. Beside her stands Persephone holding an Eleusinian torch and pouring libations from a cup.” Persephone & Demeter Lekythos 450 - 425 BCE. Current location: Athens National Archaeological Museum.
“Ceres delights in peace: pray, you farmers,
Pray for endless peace and a peace-loving leader.
Honour the Goddess with wheat, and dancing salt grains,
And grains of incense offered on the ancient hearths,
And if there’s no incense, burn your resinous torches”
-Ovid, Fasti: Book 4, April 12, The Games of Ceres
Dionysos with maenads, satyrs, and athletes by The Kleophrades Painter 500 BCE
“Difficulties are things that show what men are. For the future, in case of any difficulty, remember, that God, like a gymnastic trainer, has pitted you against a rough antagonist. For what end? That you may be an Olympic conqueror; and this cannot be without toil. No man, in my opinion, has a more profitable difficulty on his hands than you have; provided you will but use it, as an athletic champion uses his antagonist.
Suppose we were to send you as a scout to Rome. But no one ever sends a timorous scout, who, when he only hears a noise, or sees a shadow, runs back frightened, and says, “The enemy is at hand.” So now, if you should come and tell us: “Things are in a fearful way at Rome; death is terrible, banishment terrible, calumny terrible, poverty terrible; run, good people, the enemy is at hand”; — we will answer: Get you gone, and prophesy for yourself; our only fault is, that we have sent such a scout. Diogenes was sent a scout before you, but he told us other tidings. He says that death is no evil, for it is nothing base; that calumny is only the noise of madmen. And what account did this spy give us of pain, of pleasure, of poverty? He says, that to be naked is better than a purple robe; to sleep upon the bare ground, the softest bed; and gives a proof of all he says by his own courage, tranquility, and freedom; and, moreover, by a healthy and robust body. “There is no enemy near,” he says. “All is profound peace.” How so, Diogenes? “Look upon me,” he says. “Am I hurt? Am I wounded? Have I run away from any one?” This is a scout worth having. But you come, and tell us one thing after another. Go back and look more carefully, and without fear.”
Epictetus; Carter, Elizabeth. The Complete Works of Epictetus (pp. 73-74). Lazy Raven Publishing. Kindle Edition.
Echtra Fergus mac Léti facsimile copy Gaelic manuscript 11th Ct - Copy of 8th Ct text
“This medieval tale "Echtra Fergus mac Léti” (Saga of Fergus son of Léti) contains the earliest known reference to a leprechaun (8th Century). This facsimile copy is on display in Ireland’s National Leprechaun Museum.“
-taken from @nicolekearney & @leprechaun_ie on twitter
Hieros gamos (wedding) of Zeus and Hera from the House of the Tragic Poet in Pompeii 1st C. CE
“The local myth relayed by Menodotus of Samos contains references to cult ceremonies and practices. It is believed that Admete, daughter of Eurystheus fled from Argos to Samos. To punish her for fleeing, the Argives instructed Etruscan pirates to carry the wooden Samian cult image away. However the pirate ship with the stolen cult image was unable to set off and the pirates escaped in confusion. When the Samian islanders discovered their image outside the temple they assumed it had escaped alone and bound it with rods from the Lygos tree. Thus the annual festival of Hera was called the Tonaia (binding) where the main ceremony involved participants dragging the image out of the temple and to the seashore where they would then make a great show out of searching for the statue and uncovering it for it to be purified. Varro states the statue was draped with bridal robes as ‘The annual rites of Hera are celebrated in the form of a marriage’ thus the festival sought to immitate marriage rites between Hera and Zeus. The Goddess’ birthplace is also involved in the festival where cult members wound lygos branches around themselves from the sacred tree Hera is believed to have been born under.
The remnants of fruit such as grape seeds and olive pits show us evidence of the types of fruit consumed during the festival of Hera. It was believed fruits rich in seed reflected Hera’s divinity as a great fertility Goddess.”
