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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 10m

🖌️ Venus, Sandro Botticelli & workshop, c. 1490, tempera on canvas, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie/ photo: Jörg P. Anders; Public Domain Mark 1.0

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 10m

Coming soon 🐚 💫 Aphrodite: The Making of a Goddess opens next Thursday, 8 October. 🏛️ Ashmolean Members enjoy free entry, with no need to book, and an exclusive preview of the exhibition the day before it opens. ashmolean.org/exhibition/a...

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

First perfected in China, the technique was later copied and adapted by other cultures, such as Japan where this piece is from. In Japanese this type of glaze is known as ‘yōhen’, or ‘kiln transmutation’ glaze. 🍐EA1989.13

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Flambé glazes such as this require high-firing temperatures and the exact results are not entirely controllable. They rely on many factors such as the thickness of the glaze application and the kiln’s atmosphere.

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

🍐This beautiful pear-shaped porcelain bottle from Japan is covered in a distinctive green flambé glaze. It was made by Ishiguro Kōkō of the Sumida Pottery in Tokyo, named after the nearby Sumida River.

Pear-shaped bottle with a green 'flambé' glaze

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

“I am thrilled that, through the generosity of the Samdani Art Foundation, the Ashmolean Museum will be able to build a much deeper relationship with artists and art from Bangladesh.” — Mallica Kumbera Landrus, Keeper of Eastern Art

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Alongside the Ashmolean Samdani Visiting Artist Programme, which will bring a Bangladeshi artist to Oxford each year, the partnership will also support the acquisition of new works, helping to build the Museum’s collection of contemporary art from Bangladesh.

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Over the next 2 weeks, he will spend time with the Department of Eastern Art, exploring the Museum’s collections and archives. Wasif’s arrival marks the beginning of a new partnership between the Ashmolean & the Samdani Art Foundation that will support contemporary art and artists from Bangladesh.

Munem Wasif observing framed photographs on display at the Ashmolean Museum.

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

We are delighted to welcome Munem Wasif, the Ashmolean's inaugural Samdani Visiting Artist. An artist, curator and educator based in Dhaka, Wasif works across photography, the moving image, archival material and collected objects.

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

They could have been used for general storage or specifically to hold pine nuts or products made from them, such as pinoccate, a sweet made of pine nuts, sugar, and egg white, which was an Umbrian speciality. See it on display in Gallery 56, Level 2. WA1888.CDEF.C463.1

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

This wonderful 16th-century jar is in the shape of a pinecone. Jars like this in the shape of pinecones, both lustred and unlustred, were a popular Deruta product in the first half of the sixteenth century.

An earthenware jar in the shape of a pine cone.

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

🔥 Box with phoenix and emblems of eight Taoist Immortals, 1701–1800. China. Gold filigree, inset with turquoises, 5.9cm diameter. EAX.1321

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

They are comprised of seven men and one woman and each have their own associated object from which they draw their powers. These objects are shown in turquoise on the sides of this box. See it on display in Gallery 38 on Level 2.

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

This beautiful box dates from 18th century China. It resembles a six-petaled flower, and features a phoenix and eight symbols of Taoist immortals inlaid with turquoise. The Eight Immortals (Ba Xian) are a group of ancient heroes in Chinese mythology who fight for justice and vanquish evil.

A gold box with turquoise phoenix and emblems of eight Taoist Immortals

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

This example was made around 1580 by Hans Koch, one of the leading makers in South Germany at the time. You can see it, and many other clocks and watches, on display in our Silver Gallery on the 2nd floor. ⌚ Gilt-brass cased clock-watch, Hans Koch (died 1603), c. 1580. WA1947.191.7

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Owning scientific instruments became very fashionable in the 16th and 17th centuries. Astronomical compendiums, with a number of different instruments combined in one case, and small enough to be portable, became highly desirable.

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

🔭🌙 Just 10cm tall, this little clock-watch in the form of a book includes adjustable sundials, signs of the zodiac, tools to calculate the hours of daylight and the phases of the moon, a lunar wheel-chart, and even an alarm! ⏰

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

💙 Design for a 'Minstrel Tile', William Morris (1834 - 1896), pen with blue ink and watercolour and graphite. WA1940.61

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Morris produced several designs of angels playing musical instruments, intending to use them as the basis for stained-glass windows and other furnishings. 💙 Minstrel angel playing cymbals, William Morris (1834 - 1896), pen with blue ink and watercolour and graphite. WA1977.70

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

William Morris was one of the principal figures of the British arts and crafts movement. These beautiful pen and ink drawings with watercolour were made by him around 1867. Both of these designs were used for a stained-glass window, dated 1869, in the Church of St Michael, Tilehurst, Berkshire.

A pen, blue ink and watercolour of a Minstrel angel playing cymbals by William Morris

A pen, blue ink and watercolour of Design for a 'Minstrel Tile' by William Morris

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

While wearing chopines, women had to walk slowly and sometimes had to be helped by servants. But the shoes did give women a more imposing stature, and tall, highly-decorated pairs were often associated with high status. Chopines, 1580–1620. Leather, silk, and silver brocade. AN1685.B.293

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

The distinctive feature of a chopine was the very thick soles which were usually made of cork or wood. The soles of these chopines are 65mm at their highest, but some worn in Venice, Italy, were over 50 centimetres tall.

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

This is a beautiful example of a pair of late 16th — early 17th-century chopines. A chopine is a women’s platform-style shoe that was popular in Europe, especially in Venice and Spain, from the 15th to 17th centuries.

A pair of leather, silk and silver brocade chopines.

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

🍁 Detail from Maple Trees at Mama, Tekona Shrine, and Linked Bridge, 1857, by Utagawa Hiroshige I (1797–1858). Woodblock print with bokashi (tonal gradation). EAX.4362

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

The print depicts the maple trees at Mama, to the east of Tokyo, which was famous for the beauty of its maple trees in the autumn. Beyond the tree and to the left, you can see the shrine and bridge referenced in the title of the piece.

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

The autumn equinox is here in the northern hemisphere, meaning that the new season has officially begun. This woodblock print by Hiroshige captures the colours and feeling of autumn beautifully.

A woodblock print by Utagawa Hiroshige I detecting autumn leaves on a maple tree

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

You deserve a treat ☕️ From a delicious sweet and spiced Iced Apple Pie Chai Latte to our hearty Turkey & Pastrami Manhattan Roll, enjoy comforting new seasonal flavours in the Museum's Café. 🏛️ We're open everyday from 10am to 5pm.

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

💙 Punch bowl, 1743, Joseph Flower. Earthenware, 21.3 cm (h), 34 cm (d). WA1963.136.68

An 18th-century punch bowl decorated in blue and white, showing lively scenes of a dinner party.

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

The centre of the bowl is decorated with a scene showing a group of men sitting around a table drinking punch and smoking pipes. Skilfully painted around the inner rim are the words and music to a song entitled 'Beauties Decay' by Thomas Otway and Henry Purcell. See it on display in Gallery 40.

A bird's eye view of the bowl showing the score around the edge.

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

This punch bowl would’ve made the perfect centrepiece for an 18th-century dinner party. The outside of the bowl is painted with lively scenes derived from engravings illustrating popular songs published in ‘The Musical Entertainer’ by George Bickham Jr. (1737-39).

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Who doesn't dream of a whimsical frog purse?! 🙌 This 17th century frog-shaped purse is made from silk, silk floss, metal threads, wire and glass beads, and probably leather. It was decorated with detached needlepoint, laid & couched stitches. 🪡 🐸 Frog Purse, Europe, 17th century. WA1947.191.324

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

🤚Henry VIII’s hawking glove, 1520–1545. 28.5 x 13 cm. AN1685.B.228

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Usually the bird was carried on the left hand explaining the lack of wear on this right-hand glove. The glove is made in two main pieces and is lined throughout. As you can imagine on a glove fit for a king, there are some special details on this object such as the silver-gilt thread embroidery.

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

This is no ordinary glove, it once belonged to Henry VIII and it was his hawking glove. A hawking glove, or falconry glove is worn to protect the falconers skin from the sharp talons of the birds when they land.

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

🏠 A Ruined House, John Sell Cotman (1782–1842), c.1807–1810. Watercolour over graphite on paper, 32.7 x 26.1 cm. WA1931.8

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Cotman also worked as a drawing master and from 1834 was a Master of King’s College London. Among his pupils there was the young Dante Gabriel Rossetti, later one of the founding members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

A Ruined House, pictured here, is a study for an oil painting which was produced after Cotman returned from London to Norwich in 1806. The motif of the ruin is a subject that recurs in Cotman’s work, from monumental castles to domestic dwellings.

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

This atmospheric watercolour is by John Sell Cotman who was born in Norwich in 1782. Although largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Cotman is now considered to be one of the most distinctive British 19th-century watercolourists and the leading artist of the ‘Norwich School’.

A watercolour of a ruined house by John Sell Cotman.

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

This fabulous object is a 17th-century Persian shoe. Made of cream cloth and brown suede with a brown leather sole. It has been decorated in silk floral embroidery with a yellow silk tassel at the toe. Man's shoe of cream cloth and-brown suede, 1601–1700. 27 x 7.8 x 9.5cm. Persia. AN1685.B.305

Mans shoe of cream cloth and brown suede with a yellow tassel at the toes.

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

This beautiful panel consists of 48 individual tiles. They were made in Syria in the 1600s, and depict vases, cypress trees and flowers. See it on display in Gallery 31, Level 1. 🌷Set of forty-eight tiles displaying vases and cypress trees amid flowers, 17th century, Syria. EA1977.15

A set of tiles displaying vases and cypress trees amid flowers.

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

🌹🐈 Illustration to 'The Wish' by Abraham Cowley, Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale (1872 - 1945), 1915. WA1965.52.2

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Does this look like a familiar scene to you? A fluffy shadow following you as you go about your day-to-day. This watercolour was painted by Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale in 1915 as an illustration to 'The Wish' by Abraham Cowley. It beautifully captures an idyllic day in early summer.

A watercolour of a young man walking through a floral-filled garden. Behind him on the ground is a cat.

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Several signed and dated pieces survive, many of which date to the times of Fath ‘Ali Shah, the Qajar ruler of Iran from 1797 to 1834. See it on display in Gallery 19, Level G. Spoon with crowned heads and astrological decoration, 1801–1830. Gold, enamelled, 0.5 x 13.2 x 2.4 cm. EA2009.4

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

This beautiful gold enamelled spoon is from early 19th-century Iran. The art of enamelling was especially popular during the Qajar period, which this spoon dates from. Water pipe bases, swords and daggers, mirrors, and tableware are some of the types of objects which were painted with enamels.

Spoon with crowned heads and astrological decoration

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

🦀 Fuchi with a crab, Edo period Japan (1600–1868). Shibuichi, with punched nanako decoration, and inlaid with gold. EA1956.2490 🦀 The Dutiful Woman of Kawada Village, 1842, by Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797–1861). Nishiki-e (full colour) woodblock print, with bokashi (tonal gradation). EA1971.76

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

A little pinch of the crabs in our collection 🦀 🦀 Bronze box in the form of a Crab, 16th or 17th century, northern Italy. Bronze, 15.5 cm x 12.8 cm. WA1947.191.174 🦀 Study of a Velvet Crab, 1870, by John Ruskin (1819–1900). Bodycolour over graphite on blue wove paper. WA.RS.ED.199

An artwork by John Ruskin of a Velvet Crab against a light blue background.

A Japanese fuchi, black with a gold crab detail.

A Japanese colour woodblock prink of a woman in traditional dress sat on the ground surrounded by crabs.

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Their two back legs are usually unnaturally lengthened, ending in glorious curving brush-strokes. Animals are a recurrent motif in the Islamic tradition, appearing both in royal context and more popular visual culture. See it on display in Gallery 31 on Level 1. 🐇 EA1978.2398

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

This beautiful object is a fragment from the base of a 13th-century Syrian bowl. It is decorated with a hare in an ‘arrested’ stance, that is with one of their front paws raised, and their head turned to the rear.

A fritware fragment from a bowl featuring a black hare and decorative design.

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

🏹 Bow-case, 1600–1650. Leather, silver-wire embroidered, 66 x 30.5 cm. Turkey. AN1685.B.397

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

This wonderful object is a Turkish bow-case. Made from black leather and elaborately decorated with fine silver wire embroidery. This case is for a composite bow, and would have been worn suspended from the archer’s belt.

A leather bow case embroidered in silver wire.

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