Oxford is more or less on the way home from Birmingham, so we decided to park and ride into the city to visit the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology. Situated on Beaumont Street it is a very short walk from the bus stop and we were soon at the gates, and then walking up the steps in to the historic building. Through the ever rotating doors, we were greeted with a very different interior. The historic facade gives way to the modern new building designed by architect Rick Mather - all but the Cockerell Building, Grade I-listed has been swept away. A volunteer handed us a plan and a list of key exhibits that would take us to every floor and corner, so we began our adventure.
Starting with the Lower Ground, we worked our way up the magnificent new staircase to the third floor, leaving a visit to the roof terrace and restaurant for another day.
Our highlights included Lawrence of Arabia's Ceremonial Dress, Guy Fawkes Lantern, The Shoemaker design pot, Cycladic figures, Iznic tiles, a cylindrical Japanese 'Waterfall' vase, Stradivari 'Messiah' violin, the Alfred Jewel, works by Titian, Uccello, Pissarro, Turner; but in visiting these items we saw so much more of the Museum. Impossible to see everything in a single visit, we will definitely be returning to seek out more treasures.
Powhatan's Mantle may have been aquired by John Tradescant the Younger during his travels to Virginia in 1637. It was certainly in the Tradescant collection by 1638, when Georg Cristoph Stirn incuded a reference to 'the robe of the King of Virginia' in his account of the Ark at South Lambeth.
Despite its name, Powhatan's Mantle in not a cloak, as once believed, but probably a wall-hanging, perhaps from a place of worship. It is likely that, while hanging on a wall in the Ashmolean, shells from the lower section were removed by visitors, who kept them as souvenirs.
Early 1600s, North American (Virginia). deer skin and shell.
Despite its name, Powhatan's Mantle in not a cloak, as once believed, but probably a wall-hanging, perhaps from a place of worship. It is likely that, while hanging on a wall in the Ashmolean, shells from the lower section were removed by visitors, who kept them as souvenirs.
Early 1600s, North American (Virginia). deer skin and shell.
Jar decorated with a six-tentacled octopus and murex shells (partly restored by W.H.Young),Palace at Knossos, Crete, 1450-1400 BC, clay. Murex shells are the source for the purple-red dye, a popular colourant for textiles across the east Mediterranean.
Presented to the Museum by the Cretan Government, AN1911.608
Presented to the Museum by the Cretan Government, AN1911.608
The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology
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