MUSEUM SECRETS: A Miniature Masterpiece

“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. ⁠

⁠Listen to ‘A Miniature Masterpiece’ here, or wherever you find your podcasts. -> https://www.ashmolean.org/museum-secrets

New Acquisition: A Golden Tea Bowl

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.

ashmolean.org/membership

Pre-Raphaelites: Drawings & Watercolours

Come for the portraits, stay for the landscapes. Or stay for it all, really, but our Pre-Raphaelites exhibition does include a whole section dedicated to the vivid and beautifully-detailed landscape works of the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood. ⁠

Pre-Raphaelite landscape painters worked out of doors, aiming to capture the effects of sunlight and shadow, and to include every detail that they could see. They often chose surprising effects of atmosphere or colour, or depicted familiar subjects from unusual viewpoints. The writings of John Ruskin encouraged them to look closely at nature, and to transcribe what they saw with the exactitude of a botanist or a geologist.⁠

Instead of only using transparent washes, they also worked with bodycolour (gouache) which produces stronger, more intense colours. Some went abroad to find spectacular scenery, others stayed in southern England and found beauty in simple, everyday scenes. ⁠

Book your tickets today: https://www.ashmolean.org/pre-raphaelites

️ Red Barn at Whitchurch by George Price Boyce, 1868.⁠

️ Study of a Distant Range of Mountains, William Dyce, 1860.⁠

️ View of a Lake with Trees, John William Inchbold, 1857.⁠

OUR MUSEUM: OUR VOICES

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

Happy Birthday, Ashmole!

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.

Oil in canvas painting by John Riley, 1681-82.

Albrecht Dürer

German Renaissance painter, printmaker and theorist Albrecht Dürer was born on this day in 1471.

Dürer established his reputation and influence across Europe very early on in his life due to his high-quality woodcut prints, and is credited with bringing the Renaissance to Northern Europe. He travelled to Italy a number of times, and was well-acquainted with many of the major Italian artists of his time, including Raphael and Leonardo da Vinci. In 1512, he was appointed court painter to Roman Emperor Maximilian I.

This work, called Melencolia I, is one of the most well-known ‘master engravings’. Despite being rife with symbolism, it has more or less eluded interpretation. The winged figure is thought to be an embodiment of melancholy, and around her we can see an hourglass, weighing scales, and other tools, as well as a magic square and astrological features. Competing theories suggest it alludes to alchemy, astrology, theology or even philosophy.

We’d love to know: what do you see when you look at it? What do you think it could be about?

Engraving on laid paper, 1514.

Not All Heroes Wear Capes

“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. ⁠
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Read 'Not All Heroes Wear Capes’ here: ashmolean.org/article/high-level-cleaning

Father’s Day

Happy Father’s Day.

The painting above is by Impressionist artist Camille Pissarro. Pissarro was known as a father figure within the Impressionist movement by virtue of his seniority but also his wisdom, kindness, and warm-hearted personality.

It wasn’t just within the artist movement that he played a paternal role. In his personal life, Pissarro fathered eight children with his wife Julie Vellay. Over his career, he produced many portraits of them, a number of which we hold in our collections. Scroll down to see a handful of these striking yet tender representations of his children.

Perhaps inspired by their father, many of Pissarro’s children also went on to become artists, including Lucien, Georges, and Félix.

View from my Window, 1886-88.

Portrait of Lucien Pissarro as a Young Boy, 1869–1870.

Jeanne Pissarro (Minette) holding a Fan, c. 1873

Jeanne-Rachel Pissarro seated at a table (Minette), c. 1872

Ludovic-Rodo Pissarro, c. 1883 - 1884

Portrait of Lucien Pissarro, 1883.

Blaise Pascal

‘We know the truth, not only by the reason, but also by the heart.’

French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal was born on this day in 1623. Educated by his father, Pascal showed an impressive grasp of mathematics from a young age, and went on to become a pioneer in the fields of game theory and probability. At the age of eighteen, in an effort to support his father with extensive tax calculations, he also invented and constructed one of the first mechanical calculators.

After an intense religious experience, Pascal’s commitment to Catholicism was renewed and he shifted his focus to religious, spiritual and philosophical writings. His most influential works are 'Lettres provinciales’ and 'Pensées’, the latter containing perhaps one of his most well-known ideas, Pascal’s Wager, which argues for a belief in God.

This small porcelain sculpture of Blaise Pascal was made in Sèvres Porcelain Factory c. 1784.

A Tang Dynasty Goose

Happy Tuesday, everyone! Here is a small goose to brighten up your day.

This little goose is from 7th-8th century China, under the Tang Dynasty, and is made from hand-modelled earthenware. It would have been used a burial good.

Geese have featured prominently in Chinese rituals for many centuries: during the Han dynasty, from 206 BC to 220 AD, it became a symbol of nobility because of their similarity to the swan. Later on, during the Tang Dynasty, they were more often associated with marriage rites, as they were given as wedding gifts or involved in various elements of the wedding ceremony.

Burial goods or tomb figures were common in Tang Dynasty China, and it was thought that the figures represented would be available to the deceased in the afterlife.

Coming Soon - Tokyo: Art & Photography

Our next major exhibition will explore Tokyo through the vibrant and varied arts it has generated over 400 years, from its beginnings as the headquarters of the Tokugawa shoguns in the early 1600s to the sprawling modern metropolis and dynamic centre of art, photography and design it is today.

Members will have access to a priority booking period, and will also be able to book into a private view on the day before the exhibition opens to the public. Become a Member today for access to these perks.

Opening 29th July. Find out more: ashmolean.org/tokyo

Tokyo from Utsurundesu series by Ninagawa Mika, 2018–2019⁠

Good Evening Sumida River by Sugiyama Motosugu, 1993⁠

Uguisudani-zu by Aida Makoto, 1990. Mineral pigments, acrylic on sex phone cards on panel⁠

Tokyo Station, Scenes of Last Tokyo by Onchi Kōshirō, 1945.⁠

Peonies by May Morris

Peony season is upon us, and we’re not complaining! Here are just a few more for you to feast your eyes on.⁠

This group of deep pink peonies was painted by May Morris c. 1905 using watercolour over graphite.⁠ Swipe to see the brushstrokes up close.⁠

Julia Margaret Cameron

Happy birthday Julia Margaret Cameron.⁠

It wasn’t until 1863, when Cameron was in her late 40s, that she started taking photographs. Most photographic pioneers of the time were heavily focused (pun intended) on sharpness and precision, but Cameron’s soft images and dramatic lighting made for very distinctive portraits.⁠

Cameron said of her approach, “The photograph thus taken has been almost the embodiment of a prayer.”⁠

Head of St John (May Prinsep) by Julia Margaret Cameron, 1866⁠

Study of Prospero (Sir Henry Taylor) by Julia Margaret Cameron, 1865⁠

Ophelia (Mary Pinnock) by Julia Margaret Cameron, 1867⁠

World Oceans Day

Today is World Oceans day, honouring the salt waters of our world. It would take over 883 quadrillion copies of this party scene from our collection to cover the same area as the global ocean. Plenty of fish in that sea, and all of them in the party mood

This print is one of the many prints created by Utagawa Kuniyoshi in the 19th century which are now held in our collections.

Pride Month

Happy Pride month, one and all! ️‍⁠

⁠This Pride Progress flag is made with a selection of works from our collection in celebration of LGBTQ+ life here in Oxfordshire and around the world.⁠

Pride month serves to advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, and celebrates and highlight the history and achievements of LGBTQ+ communities worldwide. It falls in June to commemorate the Stonewall riots, which occurred in the United States in 1969.⁠

If you want to learn more about the LGBTQ+ stories represented in our collections, you can find the ‘Out in Oxford’ Trail, as well as a number of articles and stories on the 'stories’ section of our website.⁠ Find out more via the link in our bio.⁠

Two Green Dishes

These ceramic dishes come from quite different parts of the world, but tell an interesting story of cross-cultural influence.

The first dish with trailed green decoration is from 10th-century Iraq, during the Abbasid Period which lasted from AD 750–1258. The Abbasid Period is one of the most prolific moments of ceramic production in the Islamic world, with lots of experimentation with glazes and surface decoration inspired by foreign trends as well as local demand.

Around the time this dish was made, Chinese ceramics had become all the rage with Muslim potters. Many began collecting and imitating the range of ceramic styles produced there: the choice of the green glaze we see on the Iraqi dish is reflected in the second dish, which was made in Tang Dynasty China centuries prior.

Walter Sickert

Walter Sickert, one of the most influential British artists of the 20th century, was born #onthisday in 1860. He introduced the subjects and techniques of the French Impressionists into English art.

We have a number of Sickert’s works in our collection, including this one, called ‘Ennui’. Painted in 1917–1918, it is his interpretation of the boredom of married life, and is the last of his five paintings of the subject. The models were Hubby, an old school-friend of Sickert’s who had fallen on hard times, and whom Sickert looked after; and Marie Hayes, who may have been Hubby’s wife, and who modelled for Sickert on several occasions. He puffs contentedly on a cigar, while she stares hopelessly at a glass case of stuffed birds.

It is thought that this painting is more successful than his original, as the brighter colours and patterns paired with a smaller canvas size contribute to a more claustrophobic atmosphere.

Virginia Woolf saw this work at an exhibition in London in 1933, and felt compelled to write about it. Listen to our podcast with Dame Hermione Lee, Professor of English Literature at the University of Oxford, to find out more about the work and what Woolf made of it

ashmolean.org/professor-dame-hermione-lee-ennui-walter-richard-sickert