2019/20 ASHMOLEAN.ORG - Ashmolean Museum
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ANNUAL REVIEW 2019/20 ASHMOLEAN.ORG
CONTENTS
02 06 26 30 34
INTRODUCTION OUR STRATEGY DIGITAL TEACHING RESEARCHING
MUSEUM MUSEUM MUSEUM
Forewords........................................................ 02 Ashmolean For All....................................... 06
A Year at a Glance........................................04 Exhibitions, Free Exhibitions, Special Online Collections........................................ 27 Curricular Teaching....................................... 31 Exhibitions and Research.......................... 35
Displays and Touring Exhibitions.......... 09
Ashmolean From Home............................. 28 University Engagement Digital Research.............................................. 35
Online Wellbeing........................................... 28 Programme (UEP).......................................... 32 Research Partnerships................................36
Digital Learning............................................... 28 Learning for Everyone................................ 32 Individual Research......................................36
Families and Schools................................... 32 Public Engagement and Research......36
Young People and The Print Room and Study Rooms.......36
Adult Programmes........................................33
National and International Reach........ 38
Ashmolean Teacher Training...................33
40 44
ABOVE Clay Live, October
2019. © Ian Wallman
26 Hong Tao (b.1948),
Galloping Rhythm, 2000.
OUR PEOPLE AND COMMERCIAL Multi-block woodcut,
printed with oil-based ink,
SUSTAINABILITY AND FUNDRAISING 76 x 90cm. EA2007.28
34 Gold stater of Alexander
10
COVER Rembrandt van Rijn Staff Wellbeing................................................. 41 Retail and Brand Licensing.......................44 the Great from the Amphipolis
(1606–69), Self-Portrait in Last Supper in Pompeii............................... 12 Mint, 336–c.323 bc.
a Cap, 1630. Etching and Volunteers........................................................... 41 Catering...............................................................44
Young Rembrandt......................................... 14
drypoint on laid paper, Sustainability.....................................................42 Membership......................................................45
5.2 x 4.7 cm. WA1855.368 Modern and Contemporary..................... 16
10 Gallery view of the OUR PROGRAMME Acquisition Highlights................................. 18
In Memoriam.....................................................43 Philanthropy......................................................45
Ashmolean’s Last Supper Benefactors, Gifts and Legacies...........46
Caring for the Collections........................25
in Pompeii exhibition, Financial Highlights.......................................48
25 July 2019–12 January 2020
FOREWORDS legacies of empire, given renewed
urgency by the forceful re-ignition of the
with our collections, we can restore
hope, reconnect and unify our
Black Lives Matter and, within Oxford, communities and rebuild the
the Rhodes Must Fall movements, have framework of our culture.
all demanded that we re-examine what
Over the past few years significant
we do and how we do it.
work across GLAM has been undertaken
For me these questions reinforce the to develop our capability to share our
XA STURGIS importance of our five-year strategy, digitised collections and to expand
DIRECTOR Ashmolean For All. Launched in 2018, our offer across all platforms, reaching
ASHMOLEAN MUSEUM it focuses on improving the way we out to existing and new audiences, from
serve and represent as wide and diverse here in Oxford to around the world.
Happily, as I write, the Museum has shed Near East Gallery, and to Barrie and It was all going so well. Looking back an audience as possible – seeking to
The Ashmolean’s current part in a pilot
its chrysalis and re-emerged, re-opening Deedee Wigmore for their support over the year from this uncertain vantage welcome and engage all our visitors
study with the Oxford Internet Institute
with new measures in place, such as a during the current crisis; your generosity point, it is strange to think how things while recognising the need to give
and Department of Psychiatry, funded
social distancing system that accepts goes beyond measure. looked as we entered 2020. Visitor voice to different perspectives on our
by the University’s Covid-19 Research
just over 5,000 visitors a week, instead numbers were breaking all records, collections and their histories. Achieving
We are extremely fortunate to be Response Fund, to study the effects
of the previous 20,000. thanks in no small part to the beautiful these goals in a sustainable way in a
a part of the University of Oxford’s of online cultural experiences on
and engrossing Last Supper in Pompeii; world of social distancing and financial
As our doors open again, we simply Gardens, Libraries and Museums (GLAM). mental health is testimony to the future
LORD LUPTON must build on the important work that Their contribution towards our core
we had just celebrated the tenth constraints will require sureness of
direction of our wider engagement.
CHAIRMAN has already been achieved towards funding enables us to carry out our
anniversary of the Ashmolean’s purpose and more of the adaptability
Such projects show how we can
BOARD OF VISITORS securing the Museum’s endowment leading work in teaching and research,
transforming redevelopment and and creativity that the Museum
continue to support mental wellbeing
welcomed Lord Lupton as our new has demonstrated over the last
campaign to safeguard our future as well as developing our strategy to through the engagement of our
Chairman. At the end of February we six months and to which this report
When I was fortunate enough to take as a world-class museum and the enhance our engagement with the cultural assets online.
opened Young Rembrandt to critical so amply testifies.
over from Bernard Taylor as Chairman greatest university museum of art local community and wider public.
acclaim and (astonishingly in retrospect) Now is the time to look at how we tell
of the Board of Visitors on 1 January and archaeology. Crises such as the
Over its 337-year long history, the even in early March were confident it the stories of our collections. Through
2020, the Museum was in a flurry of one we are living through often reveal
Ashmolean, Britain’s first public would break its ambitious visitor targets. interpretation and intervention, we
activity preparing for the major Young the depth of character and resilience
museum, has held fast, always can question, debate and showcase
Rembrandt exhibition, charting the of a community, and indeed a nation. By 17 March we were closed and
evolving and responding to the different perspectives.
meteoric rise of the Dutch Master. I would like to call out and thank, on remained closed until early August.
state of the world and the changing
It was a joy to see the teams at work behalf of all of us who care about There is much to regret about having We have learned a great deal more in
needs of its audience. I strongly
putting on a show of this scale, the Museum, the Ashmolean’s staff to shut our doors to visitors at a moment recent months regarding the potential
believe that the Ashmolean’s
beauty and significance. and volunteers for ensuring that of national crisis when so many of us of animating our museum programmes
reputation, its stunning objects, its
the Museum could provide a source were in need of the very things that and collections in the digital world.
That was then. Now, just a few highly-motivated staff, the support of PROF. ANNE TREFETHEN With that renewed focus and insight,
of inspiration and learning throughout museums and art can offer; escape,
months later, we have to deal with the University and of our supporters, PRO-VICE-CHANCELLOR we can adapt to the post Covid ‘new
these past months. enjoyment, inspiration, but perhaps
the considerable challenges which big and small, mean that we will UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD normal’ and continue to deepen our
above all a sense of community and
have hit the world as a result of the We are so grateful to our supporters navigate these choppy waters (GLAM) connection with, and commitment to,
connectedness. But while our doors
Coronavirus pandemic. Like many for helping us to continue to preserve, successfully. Please do consider
closed much of our work continued, an Ashmolean for All.
other countries, the UK’s financial enhance and share our collections and helping us along our journey.
and I remain in awe of the nimble, Oxford University’s Gardens Libraries
outlook is uncertain, as we face the knowledge. In particular, we would like
creative and flexible way in which our and Museums (GLAM) present some
greatest challenge to our economy to thank Mr Hiroaki and Mrs Atsuko Namikawa Yasuyuki
Female figurine, staff managed and responded to the of the most important collections
since the Second World War. The Shikanai and The Shikanai Foundation (1845–1927), Vase with
Cyclades, crisis; adapting ways of working and in the world, spanning all areas of Waterfall Over Rocks,
impact of Covid-19 is scarring the for the exceptional gift of £1 million
c.2800–2300 bc. endeavouring to continue to serve human study and history. Welcoming 1910–15. Metal with
cultural fabric of our society. to endow the Japanese Collection; Marble, traces
all our communities in the new reality. over three million visitors a year, they silver wire and
this includes the ongoing care of paint, 30 cm. Closionné enamel,
In the months since lockdown was play an intrinsic role in carrying out
and management of the collections, AN1896–1908. This has been a time of reflection and 24.9cm x 6.2cm x
imposed countrywide, the Museum AE.178 teaching and research, as well as
ensuring they are shared with the innovation. New opportunities have 8.5cm. EA2002.177
went into suspended animation. When introducing a large public to the
widest audience through a strong arisen. The quick and imaginative
my family and I went round it shortly academic work of the University itself.
public programme, as well as taking development of our digital programmes
before re-opening in early August, it
on Lead Support of the 2021 Tokyo and resources meant we continued to In the wake of the seismic events that
had a melancholic, haunting beauty,
exhibition. We are therefore delighted engage existing and new audiences, we as a society have recently faced,
accentuated by the eerie silence and
to announce the naming of the two as well as highlighting areas of potential the role of our museums and public
total absence of people. Museums
new Shikanai Galleries of Japanese Art. growth. At the same time the collections as safe, welcoming places
demand the social buzz of the
sudden and dramatic collapse of all that unite our audiences by providing
enquiring public whom we serve. Our heartfelt thanks go out to the
visitor-driven income; the social and solace and inspiration has become
Sarikhani family for their support
economic impact of Covid-19; and the more relevant than ever. By continuing
of the refurbishment of the Ancient
continuing re-examination of the to build on the public’s engagement
02 ANNUAL REVIEW 2019/20 INTRODUCTION | FOREWORDS 03
A YEAR AT A GLANCE:
1 AUGUST 2019 – 31 JULY 2020
AUGUST SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE JULY
Pakistan-based Prue Leith and International artist The Ashmolean Heston Lord Lupton Arts Council Coronavirus Ashmolean From New online art Oxford Preparations for
artist Ali Kazim Mary Beard visit Cai Guo-Qiang celebrates tenth Blumenthal takes on the England renews pandemic strikes Home presents competition researchers win reopening the
undertakes a Last Supper in attends opening anniversary of the premières his Chair of the the Ashmolean’s the UK with new online Artists in Covid-19 research Ashmolean on
residency at the Pompeii to film of his solo show opening of its Pompeiian feast Board of Visitors. status as an devastating programme for Residence grant to develop 10 August, after
Ashmolean for Front Row Late Gunpowder Art. new building, at the Ashmolean Accredited impact; the audiences to documents the a study with the 146 days of closure,
Gandhara for BBC 2. designed by Rick Dining Room. Last Supper in Museum. Government enjoy remotely. public’s response Ashmolean on begin with new
Connections, One tonne of clay Mather Architects. Pompeii ends announces to Coronavirus. the effects of signage for face
supported by the is presented on with a total of Young nationwide 400,000 viewers online cultural coverings, 2-metre
Bagri Foundation. the forecourt 8,160 visitors 87,280 visitors, Rembrandt lockdown. tune into The Ashmolean experiences on social distancing
for Clay Live, attend the One becoming the opens to the watch Young becomes the mental health. and one-way
The family activity a day-long World Festival, most visited public and On 17 March Rembrandt first museum to systems.
Roman Holiday celebration bringing together exhibition in receives stellar the Ashmolean as part of BBC create bespoke Voices in the
runs throughout of ceramics. different faith Ashmolean reviews across temporarily Arts’ Culture in Instagram filters, Gallery wins
August offering communities history. national media. closes to the Quarantine. featuring works Vice-Chancellor’s
food and drink The Ashmolean from across public. Staff from the Education Award.
themed crafts, launches Oxfordshire. Installation of 03 Installation are sent home, Young Rembrandt
Chromotope, a the major new of the exhibition the lights are is recreated online, Ashmolean
storytelling, exhibition Young
multi-institutional American artist Young Rembrandt. turned off and featuring videos, From Home
dressing-up Rembrandt © Emily Jarrett
and role play. research Philip Guston begins. the collections gallery shots, releases new
partnership is the focus of 04 Entry to Artists In go under cover. digital images of online exhibition
Residence Competition.
exploring the the exhibition the artworks and Mediterranean
01 One World Festival. © Samantha Varney
© Ian Wallman Victorian Colour Locating the On 19 March accompanying Threads.
05 Ashmolean
Revolution. Image and the #Isolation texts.
02 Marble statue collections undercover
of Bacchus with a Slade Lectures; during lockdown, Creations is up
04
panther, ad 50–150. the opening is March 2019. and running with Ashmolean hits
Museo Archeologico attended by the © Ian Wallman daily challenges collections. target of digitising
Nazionale di Napoli
artist’s daughter across social 190,000 objects,
Musa Meyer. media. 25 per cent of
the collections,
The Western substantially
01 Art Print Room 03
increasing online
records the access to art and
highest monthly archaeology
attendance ever across the
with 659 visitors. Museum.
05
02
04 ANNUAL REVIEW 2019/20
OUR STRATEGY ASHMOLEAN FOR ALL
Our Strategy Ashmolean For All places equity and inclusion at
the heart of everything we do, enabling us to improve the way the
Museum represents, engages with and includes all communities and
individuals, from existing visitors to new audiences. Ashmolean For All
is underpinned by the following principles, which are embedded
in every aspect of our work:
PRESERVING, ENHANCING AND This past and unprecedented year and films made by young people
SHARING OUR COLLECTIONS has accentuated the public benefits from Eritrea, South Sudan and
We will continue to care for our of a museum. Culture sustains people. Syria with Ashmolean gallery staff,
collections, enable their growth And in times of crisis this is increasingly reflecting on and responding to
and share them worldwide. Ranging evident. In the light of recent world objects from the Ancient Near East.
from prehistory to the contemporary events our strategy, now in its third On receiving the Vice-Chancellor’s
world, these internationally significant year, has gathered momentum and Education Award, the judging panel
collections are the foundation of a sense of urgency. The Ashmolean praised the Museum for ‘making
all that we do. has a social and civic role to play powerful use of learners and staff
in retelling the stories of the past, as co-creators, genuinely changing
INSPIRING OUR AUDIENCES ensuring that we represent and the way the Museum’s objects are
We will ensure that our audiences’ remain relevant to all our audiences exhibited. The panel feels there is
encounters are inspiring, meaningful by creating a safe space to explore wide applicability for this project’s
and enjoyable by developing the and discuss these issues. approach across the museum
Ashmolean onsite, offsite and online sector, and hope that the team
In March, prior to lockdown, the
as a place of discovery, emotional might consider sharing their
Ashmolean was on course to receive
engagement and lifelong learning. work widely in the future’.
one million visitors for the 2019/2020
We are listening to our visitors to
year. In addition to our core learning
create inclusive, relevant content
and engagement work with schools, Object handling,
across all our programmes and
families, communities, adults and Voices in the Gallery.
platforms, making the Museum a
older people, we introduced the © Ian Wallman
more welcoming and social place
following range of new initiatives
while connecting more deeply
to widen access to the Museum:
with our local communities.
—A
shPass: a pilot membership
A WORLD-CLASS CENTRE FOR scheme for young people aged
RESEARCH AND TEACHING 16–19, offering special benefits to
We are dedicated to furthering the encourage independent visits to
understanding of the world through the Ashmolean, was launched in
the material and visual evidence Cheney School and Oxford Spires
of art and archaeology, and providing Academy. Due to its success we
intellectual leadership in research will roll out the scheme to more
and teaching-related areas covered schools next year.
by our collections and research
—V
oices in the Gallery: a partnership
resources across the disciplinary
with Oxford Spires Academy to
range for the University.
co-create a set of audio recordings
OUR STRATEGY | ASHMOLEAN FOR ALL 07
— In October the Older People’s
Action Team – our newest
The One World Festival
has been an absolute success.
— Our work with GLAM Community
Engagement has continued with EXHIBITIONS, FREE EXHIBITIONS,
co-producing group, recruited
through our Meet Me at the
This has brought together
the rich religious, cultural and
Along for the Ride, a co-curated
community exhibition for World SPECIAL DISPLAYS AND
Museum sessions for isolated
older people – met for the first
ethnic diversity of our beautiful
county. Through the process
Mental Health Day. Working in
partnership with The Mill, a local TOURING EXHIBITIONS
time. In considering the stages wellbeing hub supporting people’s
of organising the event, many
of ageing to understand how mental health, participants were
of the organising team, drawn
to unpick stereotypes and make inspired by visits to the Print Room
improvements for older audiences
from our diverse communities, to create a display at the Ashmolean.
visiting the Museum, the group have got to know each other, They oversaw the process from
has advised on social, physical built strong working relationships inception to installation, including
and cultural activities to increase and gained understanding about the exhibition’s theme ‘Along for
engagement to the Museum for each other’s communities and the Ride’ to explore journeys and
all older people. cultures. All this was made mental health.
possible through the dedication EXHIBITIONS TOURING EXHIBITIONS
1,098,679
—T
he One World Steering Group —F
urthermore, the Community FROM THE ASHMOLEAN
met regularly, furthering connections
and professionalism of the Engagement team supported two LAST SUPPER IN POMPEII
between Oxford’s different faith
Ashmolean staff and volunteers, members of Oxford’s Syrian Kurdish 25 July 2019 – 12 January 2020 PAINTING FACES:
groups and sharing knowledge for which my gratitude community to advocate, network THE ART OF FLATTERY unique visitors to our website
of different cultures in the city. and thanks. and help deliver workshops for the YOUNG REMBRANDT 17 May – 8 September 2019
The theme of this year’s One World city’s Middle Eastern communities. 27 February – 1 November 2020 Broadway Museum and Art Gallery
IMAM MONAWAR HUSSEIN
Festival was to welcome new arrivals The workshops fed into the planning
551,250
to Oxford, especially refugees from and content development of a DIMENSIONS: THE MATHEMATICS
Syria and other war-torn areas of the forthcoming exhibition about the
FREE EXHIBITIONS OF SPACE AND SYMMETRY
world, to a free weekend of activities, creation of countries in the Middle 14 September – 19 December 2019
A.R. PENCK: I THINK IN PICTURES
performances, talks and crafts. East following the First World War. Broadway Museum and Art Gallery
28 June – 3 November 2019 visitors to the Ashmolean
—M
ore recently, we launched Artists JAPANESE GHOSTS AND DEMONS
in Residence, a competition with CAI GUO-QIANG:
21 September – 1 December 2019
the Oxford Times inviting people to GUNPOWDER ART
223,992
Derby Museum
submit artworks created during, and 24 October 2019 – 13 September 2020
in response to, their experiences in THE YOUNG TURNER:
PHILIP GUSTON:
lockdown. We have received over AMBITIONS IN ARCHITECTURE
LOCATING THE IMAGE visits to exhibitions
1,100 creative and moving submissions AND THE ART OF PERSPECTIVE
23 November 2019 – 8 March 2020
from across Oxfordshire. Selected 28 September 2019 – 12 January 2020 at the Museum
entries have been printed weekly Banbury Museum
in the Oxford Times and the winners
SPECIAL DISPLAYS REMBRANDT IN PRINT
will be displayed at the Ashmolean.
Important work such as this continues
to broaden our audiences and to
encourage as many people as
FEED THE WORLD:
FOOD AND MONEY
30 July 2019 – 1 March 2020
1 June – 15 September 2019
Lady Lever Art Gallery, The Wirral
4 October 2019 – 5 January 2020
87,280
possible to reap the benefits Holburne Museum, Bath
visitors attended
LASERS, HOARDING
of visiting a museum. Last Supper in Pompeii
AND ROMAN GOLD COINAGE 18 January – 2 August 2020
7 March 2020 – March 2021 North Hertfordshire Museum
FROM ISTANBUL TO OXFORD: MAKING AN IMPRESSION:
THE ORIGINS OF COFFEE
DRINKING IN ENGLAND
28 September 2019 – 15 March 2020
PRINTS BY MANET, PISSARRO
AND THEIR CONTEMPORARIES 8,312
8 January – 10 March 2020
visitors attended
15 May – 7 June 2020
A NICE CUP OF TEA? Young Rembrandt
ZAMEC Cultural Centre
COMMUNITY-LED INSTALLATION
Poznan, Poland
23 May 2019 – May 2021
SKYSCAPE
One World Festival, 11 January – 18 March 2020
November 2019.
Petworth House
© Ian Wallman
08 ANNUAL REVIEW 2019/20 OUR STRATEGY 09
The success of our exhibition
OUR PROGRAMME programme draws on every area and
department of the Museum. Founded
on curatorial research, it calls on the
expertise of conservation and art handling,
public engagement, commercial and
fundraising activities, as well as front
of house operations. The past year has
presented some of the greatest exhibition
successes the Ashmolean has had to
date, together with the most challenging
experience of responding to the Coronavirus
pandemic and subsequent lockdown.
A visitor enjoying the
Young Rembrandt exhibition.
© Emily Jarrett
OUR PROGRAMME 11
LAST SUPPER IN POMPEII: One of the Exhibition’s most creative
partnerships was the collaboration
Back in our vaulted Café, our catering
partners Benugo transformed the EXHIBITION
25 JULY 2019 – 12 JANUARY 2020 with celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal.
Following a visit to the Museum, the
space into the Taberna Ashmolean.
Enhanced by reproduced images from
ORGANISATION
AND SUPPORT
famous chef created his own unique the show and a menu reflecting the
Organised in collaboration with
interpretation of a Roman feast; he flavours of Pompeii, its popularity
the Ministero dei Beni e delle
provided guests with a taste of history, resulted in a 25 per cent increase in
Attivita Culturali e del Turismo,
immortalised by the ash of Vesuvius. sales. We continued the customer
Italy; Il Parco Archeologico di
His special menu previewed at the experience into the commercial
Pompei; Museo Archeologico
Ashmolean Dining Room to a select spaces. Four hundred retail products
Nazionale di Napoli; and Parco
group of journalists and donors in were built around the themes of
Archeologico di Paestum, the
December 2019. It then launched Gardens, Life and Death and Food
Last Supper in Pompeii told the story of the Roman love affair at Dinner by Heston in January 2020, and Drink. Items sourced from Italy
exhibition triumphed in all aspects.
with food and wine, and its influence on every aspect of Roman alongside a competition with the became bestsellers, while bespoke It ignited the interest of supporters
Ashmolean, offering the chance product development was also from across the world, including
life. Fittingly for the Ashmolean and Oxford University, the to win a unique dining experience commissioned, using the striking Intesa Sanpaolo, lead supporter,
exhibition was a fusion of art and archaeology. at his London-based restaurant. images across a range of stationery who praised the significant
and homeware products. In total the scientific contribution to the
exhibition shop generated sales of study of Italian history and culture.
Beginning in Pompeii before its In the process the stories of how the between GLAM and Iffley, a special I have always had a fascination £230,000, an increase of 78 per cent Other generous donors comprised
destruction in ad 79, a fresco of diners objects were made, used and repaired academy for children and young with the gastronomy of the past from last year’s exhibition shop sales. The Ruddock Foundation for
and a statue of the wine god Bacchus have been revealed, forming part people with special educational and the food we serve at Dinner by the Arts, The William Delafield
set the tone, while fascinating Greek, of the exhibition’s narrative. needs and disabilities, has provided In the show’s final weeks tickets
Heston in London is inspired by the Charitable Trust, Stockman Family
Etruscan and Italic objects reminded opportunities for both Museum staff sold out, concluding in the highest
Rich in research, lessons were many inventive and creative chefs Foundation and the Museum’s
us of earlier influences on Roman and students to develop new skills exhibition visitor figures ever seen
conducted within the exhibition by from Britain’s culinary history. When Patrons, as well as The Helen Roll
culture. Visitors were then brought and build strong relationships. at the Museum.
curators, teachers and learning staff the opportunity came along to work Charity, Professor Gillies McKenna
into the home and the heart of the with the team at the Ashmolean
for members of diverse disciplines With star objects, accessible themes and Professor Ruth Muschel,
exhibition, the dining room. Its Museum, I leapt at the chance to
across the University. The themes will and the intrigue of a lost city, the Charles and Alison Young, the late
Greek-inspired decoration included uncover the incredible food stories
serve as content for future teaching, abundant source of stories enabled Miss Cecil Western, Mr John and
mosaics such as the incomparable fish from Pompeii. The passion and
reinforced by the accompanying our public engagement team to Mrs Margaret Leighfield and Audley
mosaic, the most photographed knowledge that Paul, Theresa and
catalogue. Designed as a legacy create widespread media coverage Travel. As a result the Museum was
object in the show, and the skeleton all the team shared was infectious
publication, it brought together a in the local, national and European able to meet the ambitions for the
mosaic with its macabre reminder to and fascinating, and the menu we
dozen expert contributors from press and digital media. exhibition, including the additional
us to seize the day. At the end came created with their help has brought
Pompeii and Oxford, incorporating commission of an audio guide,
the stark reality of the eruption of a new avenue of storytelling to
new material that extended beyond with support from The Lucinus
Mount Vesuvius. The resin cast of a Dinner. I look forward to further
the exhibition. The 296-page Trust, which presented the outcome
victim brought to life the human story collaborations and more edible
exhibition catalogue became the of the conservation work.
behind these objects, reminding us Fresco with Bacchus and historical discoveries very soon.
bestselling product of the year.
of the tragic events that made their Mount Vesuvius, Pompeii IX 8, 6, Our thanks go out to HM
preservation possible. The exhibition generated an ad 60–79. Museo Archeologico HESTON BLUMENTHAL Gallery View of Last Government, the Department for
unprecedented demand for group Nazionale di Napoli CHEF Supper in Pompeii Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
The exhibition showcased new research
bookings and exhibition tours. For (DCMS) and Arts Council England
and conservation throughout. In
families, our summer activities were for making this exhibition possible
preparation, a pioneering collaboration
themed around Roman food and through the British Government
with the Ashmolean and Il Parco
mythology, while the family trail Indemnity Scheme.
Archeologico di Pompei oversaw
received continuously positive
the conservation of 37 copper alloy,
feedback. Shortlisted for a Museum
ceramic and glass vessels excavated
and Heritage Award, our partnership
at Pompeii. Found in the ruins of
with Iffley Academy presented Last
a tavern, these objects had been
Supper in Pompeii as a source of
untouched since their first excavation
inspiration for students to develop
in the 1950s. They went on show fully
their own work in an exhibition
conserved for the first time after 2,000
at school. This featured Lego
hours of painstaking work, including
interpretations of Pompeii and Mount
visits to Pompeii by Ashmolean
Vesuvius as well as the students’ own
conservators to liaise with senior
mosaics, drawings and artworks. Since
conservator Dr Giuseppe Zolfo.
2016 the Ashmolean’s partnership
12 ANNUAL REVIEW 2019/20 OUR PROGRAMME | LAST SUPPER IN POMPEII 13
YOUNG REMBRANDT: Moving beyond online programming,
we worked with GLAM Community
It was not until July, after almost 21
weeks of closure, that we could advise EXHIBITION
27 FEBRUARY – 1 NOVEMBER 2020 Engagement to take Young Rembrandt
into communities with restricted
lenders that we would reopen to the
public on 10 August.
ORGANISATION
AND SUPPORT
digital access by commissioning
The experiences of European Young Rembrandt is supported
local community artist Dionne
museums who reopened ahead by The William Delafield Charitable
Freeman to create resource packs,
of us informed our planning for the Trust, Edward Speelman Ltd, the
including sketchbooks, materials and
reopening, as we also considered the Friends of the Ashmolean and the
activity sheets, for adult and teenage
specifics of our building and in-town Patrons of the Ashmolean. The
audiences at the Oxfordshire Hospital
location. To facilitate a safe but catalogue received support from
School, MIND at the Mill and SMART.
enjoyable visit, exhibition tickets have
More than ten years in the making, Young Rembrandt was This was further developed by a series
been reduced to 30 per cent of the
The Michael Marks Charitable
Trust, with additional support from
developed in partnership with the Ashmolean and the Museum of short activity films for our website,
normal capacity. Visitor routes have the circle of Young Rembrandt,
providing a valuable learning resource
De Lakenhal, Leiden. The exhibition drew on the strengths of the for everyone to enjoy beyond the
been planned as part of a one-way Charles and Alison Young,
system and while entry continues Amb. J. William Middendorf II,
Museums’ respective collections: the Ashmolean’s outstanding course of the exhibition.
to be free, general ticketing for the Sotheby’s, The Catherine Lewis
group of prints and drawings, and two of Rembrandt’s earliest Following correspondence with Museum itself and the permanent Foundation, Janice and Brian
museum colleagues and private collections is now in place.
paintings from the Lakenhal. lenders in April an extension of the
Capstick, Susan and Matthew
Weatherbie, the Thriplow
loans was confirmed. To facilitate this Charitable Trust and the Embassy
Initial negotiations to borrow the most Ambassador. The exhibition received an immediate spike in our online Rembrandt van Rijn
agreements had to be reviewed, of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
prized drawings, prints and paintings remarkable critical acclaim across the traffic and one of the largest Twitter (1606–69) Self-Portrait,
export licensing and Government 1629. Oil on oak panel,
from international lenders were led national press. responses the Ashmolean has ever The exhibition has been made
indemnity extended, and insurance 15.5 x 12.7 cm. Bayerische
by co-curators Professor Christopher had, with hundreds of people Staatsgemäldesammlungen, possible as a result of the British
But, on Tuesday 17 March, the doors arrangements re-considered.
Brown CBE, Director-Emeritus of the praising the programme. Alte Pinakothek, Munich Government Indemnity Scheme.
of the Ashmolean were forced to close Simultaneously we planned for
Ashmolean, and Christiaan Vogelaar, Our thanks go to HM Government,
as the nation entered lockdown. The worst-case scenarios for when
Curator at Museum De Lakenhal. An View of exhibition Young the Department for Digital, Culture,
show came to a standstill after only we could reopen and created
Van Camp joined the project in 2015
nineteen days, during which it had
Rembrandt is loved, contingency plans for the exhibitions
Rembrandt under cover Media and Sport (DCMS) and
during lockdown, March 2020.
as the Ashmolean’s new Curator
received 8,312 visitors – a great generation after generation, that were to follow Young Rembrandt. © Ian Wallman
Arts Council England.
of Northern European Art.
testimony to its potential. for his capacity to depict the
Preparations in the two years leading whole of humanity with the
Within a few days staff had started
up to the exhibition comprised keenest and kindest of eyes.
working from home and measures
budgeting, managing loan agreements We look to him for empathy,
were put in place; heightened security
and transportation, developing the understanding and pure joy
on site, exhibition lighting switched
narrative and design of the galleries
off to reduce exposure and works
at his astonishing abilities.
and producing the catalogue and
covered with tissue and Tyvek for
Right now, we could all do
public programme. The exhibition
protection. Regular checks were with a bit of Rembrandt.
first opened in Leiden in November
conducted throughout lockdown
2019 under the title Rembrandt: SIMON SCHAMA
by conservators and security staff. ART HISTORIAN AND PRESENTER
Rising Star to commemorate the
350th anniversary of the artist’s Ambitious in our approach, we
death, before travelling on to Oxford. continued to engage new visitors
with Young Rembrandt through a
Almost 140 works from across the
variety of platforms. Themed videos
globe – from Moscow to Los Angeles
were released across our social media
– have been generously lent to the
channels and we produced an online
exhibition by over 40 museums and
tour of the exhibition, accompanied
private collectors. Together they tell
by an introductory film: both received
the incredible story of Rembrandt as
over 122,000 views. Our Press Office
he transforms from an inventive and
moved quickly to incorporate Young
ambitious teenager into one of the
Rembrandt into BBC Arts’ Culture in
world’s greatest artists.
Quarantine series. Broadcast on
Young Rembrandt opened to the BBC 4 in April, the documentary
media on 24 February, followed by was presented by Simon Schama;
a preview for Friends and a Private it attracted 400,000 viewers, a figure
View hosting our Dutch colleagues, that increased through use of the
lenders, supporters and HE the Dutch BBC iPlayer. Its release caused
14 ANNUAL REVIEW 2019/20 OUR PROGRAMME | YOUNG REMBRANDT 15
MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY SPECIAL DISPLAYS
The Lewin Gallery (Gallery 62) has
Following on from Ibrahim
El-Salahi’s exhibition in Gallery 8 in
PARTNERSHIPS WITH
CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS
featured new acquisitions, such as 2018, we were delighted to acquire Aside from collecting contemporary
Desmond Morris’s surrealist painting four of his works. These feature in art, we have also enjoyed collaborating
The Dove, 1948, along with the new a special display in the Ancient with contemporary artists. Most recently,
IN FOCUS series, currently presenting Sudanese Gallery in juxtaposition during the outbreak of Covid-19, we
portraits and nudes by Egon Schiele with ancient Sudanese objects, produced the online feature Ashmolean
(1890–1918) on loan from a private on view until November. Artists at Home. In this a number
collection. Displayed in rotation of the artists represented in our
Furthermore, with support from
alongside works from our collections, collections – including internationally
the New Collecting Award by the
the series offers fresh perspectives on acclaimed artist Jenny Saville –
Art Fund as well as the Contemporary
European modernism for our regular described their work and life
The significance of our growing programme of modern and visitors to enjoy. Despite his short life
Art Society, we researched and
during lockdown.
acquired works on paper from
contemporary art is reflected in the breadth of our activities. Schiele became an icon of modernism
the 1980s by German ‘Neue Wilde’
and is now regarded as one of the
These range from exhibitions and special displays to acquisitions most important painters of the human
artists, including Elvira Bach, Ina
Barfuss, Salomé and Rainer Fetting,
and projects with contemporary artists from all over the world. figure in the twentieth century. The
to complement our existing holdings
Ashmolean is the only museum in
I’ve thought about the Black
of ‘Neo-Expressionist’ prints.
the UK where work by Schiele is on Death and what I learnt about
EXHIBITIONS different times and cultures. They and the inspirations that he drew from
long-term public display, providing A gift of drawings by important that from the time I worked in
During the course of the past year succeeded in attracting over 20,000 literature and art history. Guston’s art
a rare and ongoing opportunity ‘Expressionist’ artists, among them
our series of free exhibitions, each visitors each. was shown alongside works from our Sicily. It arrived in Europe by
to see his work. works by Egon Schiele and Ernst
accompanied by a catalogue and a
A.R. Penck: I think in Pictures,
collections, ranging from prints by
Ludwig Kirchner, has enabled us to
boats from Asia docked in
public programme, featured one of Michelangelo to drawings from the Messina, Sicily. And I’ve thought
supported by Galerie Michael Werner, ACQUISITIONS give our visitors a taste of European
the world’s most ground-breaking Song Dynasty. The exhibition was
Märkisch Wilmersdorf, London, was Our vision to expand our collections Expressionism and provide a historic about Egon Schiele and Gustav
artists, Cai Guo-Qiang (b.1957, accompanied by Professor Karen
the first museum show dedicated to efficiently is guided by the background to our ‘Neo-Expressionist’ Klimt, both of whom died from
Quanzhou, China), in the Chinese Lang’s 2020 Slade Lectures at the
the German artist in the UK for over Ashmolean’s Collection Strategy of works. These drawings were generously
Painting Gallery (Gallery 11). University of Oxford. It has continued the Spanish flu. All of history
30 years. The exhibition highlighted Modern and Contemporary Art, which donated by Cleo Kedros.
Famed for his gunpowder explosions his dynamic style and prolific output,
the Ashmolean’s series of high-profile
focuses on a small number of art
seems to have come into view.
American exhibitions, following on ‘Work and keep working, don’t
staged at museums and in public as well as marking the thirtieth movements and themes that enable
from America’s Cool Modernism
spaces worldwide, and his anniversary of the end of the Cold us to open up dialogues with, and put anything off, do it now...’
in 2018 and Jeff Koons at the
contribution to the Beijing 2008 War. In succession Philip Guston: make connections to, the historic is what I’ve told myself. And
Ashmolean in 2019.
Olympic Games where he treated Locating the Image, supported by collections. Concentrating on selected
make the work good…
viewers to possibly the greatest Hauser & Wirth, presented the areas, we acquire in-depth groups of
fireworks show in history, the renowned American artist in a new Gallery 8 during the exhibition works with the aim of creating more JENNY SAVILLE
exhibition Cai Guo-Qiang: Gunpowder light, focusing on his works on paper A.R. Penck: I think in Pictures representative and inclusive narratives. RA
Art, supported by the Denys Firth
Family Foundation, attracted over
32,400 visitors. It represented Cai
Guo-Qiang’s profound interest with Elvira Bach (b.1951), Untitled,
both Western history and Chinese 1982. Oil, pastel and gouache
artistic traditions and materials on paper, 50 x 35 cm.
WA2020.15 © Elvira Bach
including paper, porcelain and silk,
from his first explosions on paper
Salomé (b.1954), Dusche III,
through to recent engagements in
1987. Chalk and gouache on
responses to El Greco and Pompeii. paper, 71 x 84 cm. WA2020.8
© Salomé
Building on the success of our new
exhibition programme which launched
in 2018 in Gallery 8, we staged two
monographic exhibitions of the
internationally acclaimed and
politically engaged artists A.R. Penck
(1939–2017) and Philip Guston
(1913–80). Both shows demonstrated
our approach to displaying modern
art in a historic museum context by
creating new dialogues between
16 ANNUAL REVIEW 2019/20 OUR PROGRAMME | MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY 17Our commitment to expanding the
ACQUISITION HIGHLIGHTS Ashmolean’s collections ensures their
international significance and maintains
our relevance as one of the leading
university museums in the world.
This year a total number of 328
acquisitions were made before the
Museum closed on 17 March. The items
comprised paintings, graphic works,
coins and textiles through the schemes
administered by the Arts Council England,
the Cultural Gifts Scheme and Acceptance
in Lieu of Inheritance Tax, together with
a range of gifts, bequests and purchases.
Detail of Élisabeth Sonrel
(1874–1953), Les Rameaux (Palm
Sunday), 1897. Watercolour and
graphite on laid paper, 53 x 91cm.
Purchase with support from Art
Fund and funds from the Needle
Brown Bequest. WA2020.16
OUR
OURPROGRAMMES
PROGRAMME | ACQUISITION HIGHLIGHTS 19FOUR ACQUISITIONS
BY IBRAHIM EL-SALAHI
The Ashmolean has acquired
four works by Ibrahim El-Salahi
(b.1930), an Oxford-based resident
and one of the most important figures
in Sudanese art today. A pioneer of
African and Arabic modernism, his
work features in collections worldwide,
from the Guggenheim, Abu Dhabi to
MOMA, New York and Tate Modern,
London. The acquisitions received the
support of the Art Fund, Arts Council
England / V&A Purchase Grant and
a friend of the Ashmolean.
Produced at different times in his
life using a range of techniques, the
four works depict El-Salahi’s diverse
practice. They range from the early
two-dimensional figurative style that
combines Christian iconography with
Sudanese visual culture, as seen in an
untitled Christmas card print. Untitled
from 1957, to the lively calligraphic
LES RAMEAUX A MINUET DANCED
abstract Untitled from 1965, which Ibrahim El-Salahi (b.1930), Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo
detail from Untitled,
(PALM SUNDAY) (1727–1804), A Minuet Danced
IN A BALLROOM
oscillates between ornamental
1957. Zincographic print BY ÉLISABETH SONREL in a Ballroom, c.1790–1804. Pen BY GIOVANNI
pattern and a map. These early works
22.5 x 29.5 cm. WA2019.81 With support from the Art Fund and and brown ink with grey wash DOMENICO TIEPOLO
are complemented by the recent pair © Ibrahim El-Salahi. over black chalk on laid paper,
the generous bequest of Noelle This scene of a couple dancing
Pain Relief, 2017, consisting of a tiny All rights reserved, 37.5 x 50.4 cm. Accepted by
DACS/Artimage 2020 Brown, a former colleague and HM Government in lieu of in the company of gossiping and
drawing on the back of a medicine
longstanding friend of the Ashmolean, Inheritance Tax on the estate flirtatious figures was made as an
packet that El-Salahi made when
the purchase of this impressive and of John Green and allocated independent work of art. It is one
suffering from physical pain, and a Ibrahim El-Salahi (b.1930),
to the Ashmolean Museum,
Pain Relief, 2017. Pen and moving watercolour enriches our of a series of over 90 ‘Scenes of
large-sized screen print from 2019. 2019. WA2019.88
ink on medicine packet, holdings of works by women artists. Contemporary Life’ that move
El-Salahi has emphasised how the 13 x 7 cm. WA2019.131
Signed and dated in 1897 by the between affection and cynicism,
concentrated drawing process forms © Ibrahim El-Salahi. Élisabeth Sonrel (1874–1953),
All rights reserved, French artist Élisabeth Sonrel, Les Rameaux (Palm Sunday), created late in the artist’s life for
a major part of the Pain Relief series:
DACS/Artimage 2020 Les Rameaux (Palm Sunday) is 1897. Watercolour and graphite his own pleasure. Domenico’s superb
‘It is like a form of meditation;
an ambitious work by a brilliantly on laid paper, signed and dated, handling of the ink and wash achieves
I don’t feel the pain at all. It is 53 x 91cm. Purchase with
Ibrahim El-Salahi (b.1930), talented painter and designer who, radiant effects, as his animated touch
a kind of medicine’. support from Art Fund and
Untitled, 1965. Rubbing although widely recognised during lends sparkle to the figures. This is
funds from the Needle Brown
from etching plate, crayon
her lifetime, has largely been forgotten. Bequest. WA2020.16 one of a group of outstanding works
on paper, 57 x 30 cm.
WA2019.82 © Ibrahim of art – including another drawing
El-Salahi. All rights reserved, by Domenico, The Bird Fanciers,
To be appreciated by an DACS/Artimage 2020 from the same series, and paintings
institution as famous as the
by Michele Marieschi and Roelant
Ashmolean is a great honour.
Savery – that came to the Ashmolean
I am delighted that some
through the Acceptance In Lieu scheme
of my works are now in the from the estate of John Green.
Museum’s permanent collection,
in my adopted hometown. It is
particularly pleasing that they
are displayed alongside the
Museum’s collection of ancient
Nubian relics of Sudan, as I think
they relate to each other.
IBRAHIM EL-SALAHI
20 ANNUAL REVIEW 2019/20 OUR PROGRAMME | ACQUISITION HIGHLIGHTS 21DOUBLE GOURD VASE
WITH GOATS’ HEADS
In 2019 Barrie and Deedee Wigmore
generously presented an exceptional
collection of late nineteenth-century
British ceramics and metalwork. The
collection had first been loaned to
the Museum in 2016 for display in
the new Deedee Wigmore Gallery
of 19th Century British Art. The collection
comprises over 30 pieces by makers
including Wedgwood, Minton, the
Martin Brothers Linthorpe, William
Ault, James Dixon & Sons and Hukin
& Heath. It is particularly rich in pieces
designed by Christopher Dresser
(1834–1904), often regarded as
a pioneer of modern design. The
gift has transformed the Museum’s
collection of Victorian decorative
PORTRAIT OF GIUSEPPE STILL LIFE WITH ROSES arts and will form a focus for KATY TALATI COLLECTION ANTINOUS OSIRIS
FRANCHI WITH A BUST IN A CHINESE VASE further acquisitions in the future. OF CHINESE PAINTINGS The cast was made for the
OF HOMER BY ANTON BY SAMUEL JOHN PEPLOE Katy Talati (1923–2015) grew up British Museum’s 2008 exhibition
RAPHAEL MENGS A Scottish artist largely based in in Beijing. Here as a young woman Hadrian: Empire and Conflict and
Mengs painted this compelling image Edinburgh, Peploe studied art in William Ault Pottery (1883–1930), she studied painting with Pu Quan, shown in the Ashmolean’s recent
of the sculptor Giuseppe Franchi Paris in the 1890s, looking especially after Christopher Dresser a cousin of China’s last emperor exhibition Antinous: boy made god.
(1834–1904), Double gourd vase and a highly regarded painter in the The statue represents Antinous,
(1731–1806) in Rome, evoking their at the work of Manet and Cézanne.
with goats’ heads, c.1892–6.
shared passion for classical art. The By the 1920s his main concern was classical tradition. When Katy moved the boy-favourite of the emperor
Lead-glazed earthenware, 26 cm
close friendship is conveyed through with painting the perfect still life, high. Presented by Barrie and to England in 1948, Pu Quan gave her Hadrian, as an Egyptian god, wearing
the naturalism and psychological featuring recurring elements such as Deedee Wigmore. WA2019.56 a large number of his paintings which a pharaonic headdress and loincloth.
penetration of the portrait, as well Chinese porcelain, roses and fruit in she generously bequeathed to the Antinous holds a short sceptre
as through the visible brushwork carefully composed arrangements. Ashmolean, along with several in both hands, associated with
which adds to the air of intimacy. The vivid colours, thick impasto and works by other artists. After retiring roles of authority and used for
This informality is distinctive, since fluid handling are typical of his work. to Oxford in the 1990s she contacted ceremonial purposes.
Mengs’s portraits are notable for Pu Quan’s daughters in Beijing and
The figure is one of five sculptured
their urbanity and polished finish. Hong Kong. The result was the
portraits of Antinous as an Egyptian
As a rare masterpiece by an artist 2005 exhibition Pu Quan and his
Samuel John Peploe (1871–1935), god, two of which were found
whose paintings and writings on art Generation: Imperial Painters of
Still Life with Roses in a Chinese at Hadrian’s Villa at Tivoli. They
changed the course of art history, Vase, signed. Oil on canvas, Twentieth-Century China, comprising
represent the boy in the form
the painting was accepted under the 51 x 40.7 cm. Accepted by HM early works lent by Katy and works
of the god Osiris, who according
Government in lieu of Inheritance from his career in China after 1949
Cultural Gifts Scheme and allocated to the Egyptians, drowned in the
Tax from the estate of Lady Bates
to the Ashmolean in memory of the lent by his family. The collection
and allocated to the Ashmolean Nile on the same day of the year
discerning collector Robert Berg. Museum, 2019. WA2019.117 includes work on silk from the
as Antinous. The original statue
Imperial Palace painting and
found at Hadrian’s Villa, Tivoli,
calligraphy supplies.
is in the Vatican Museum
(inv. 22795).
Anton Raphael Mengs
(1728–1779), Portrait of
Giuseppe Franchi with a
Bust of Homer, 1772–3. Oil
on canvas, 72.3 x 56.4 cm.
Accepted by HM Government
under the Cultural Gifts
Scheme and allocated to Detail of Pu Quan Antinous Osiris,
the Ashmolean Museum, (1913–1991), Hidden Beauty 2008. Resin cast of a
2019. Presented in memory among Mountains and Rivers, statue in Parian marble
of Robert Berg from the Beijing, 1948. Ink on silk, (ad 130–50). Donated
collection formed by Robert 44 x 858 cm. Bequeathed by the British Museum
and Gillian Berg. WA2019.83 by Katy Talati. EA2020.1 in 2019.
22 ANNUAL REVIEW 2019/20 23ONE HUNDRED VIEWS
OF NEW TOKYO CARING FOR
(SHIN TOKYO HYAKKEI)
With the support of the Art Fund,
THE COLLECTIONS
Arts Council England / V&A Purchase
Grant and the Story Fund, the
Ashmolean was able to acquire
One Hundred Views of New Tokyo
(Shin Tokyo Hyakkei), a series of 100
woodblock prints published between
1929 and 1932. A collaboration
between eight Japanese artists
from the Creative Print movement,
the series set out to celebrate the A meticulous programme of conservation underpins our collections and
energy and dynamism of Tokyo as
multilayered schedule of exhibitions, events and loans, study visits and teaching
it recovered from the devastating
earthquake of 1923. No more than
to ensure the highest level of care. This work ranges from the analysis and
50 editions were printed, several treatment of an individual Old Master drawing to the design of a large
which are believed to have been new University facility for Collections Teaching and Research (CTRC).
destroyed during the Second World
War. Only three complete sets are Last summer, as part of an An innovative project to develop a This involved looking meticulously
kept in museums around the world unprecedented collaboration with shared methodology for studying the for pests and any signs of damage
and the fourth, acquired by the Il Parco Archeologico di Pompei we technology and authenticity of mina’i or equipment failure that might affect
ADES FAMILY Ashmolean, is the only complete completed the three-year preparatory ceramics from twelfth-century Iran the collections and works on loan.
Maekawa Senpan (1888–1960),
GIFT OF MEDIEVAL Subway, 1931. Colour woodblock set in the UK. conservation for Last Supper in Pompeii. also started this year, working closely Lights were turned off sensitive objects,
PERSIAN CERAMICS print, 20.5 x 26.8 cm. Purchased Every aspect of the show, including with, and supported by, the Sarikhani while temperature and humidity
The Ades Family gift, made under with the assistance of the Art the lighting, the materials, the family. In addition, 25 textiles were readings from over 200 telemetric
Fund, the ACE/V&A Purchase
the HM Government’s Cultural Gifts environment and the mounts, was investigated and recorded in preparation monitors were accessed online as
Grant Fund and the Story Fund,
Scheme, comprises eight medieval 2020. EA2020.108 individually assessed and selected, for the publication Aegean Legacies: part of a daily routine to check the
Persian ceramics. Varying in technique with the handling and installation Greek Island Embroideries in the performance of air handling units
and size, these objects add to the planned and carried out to the Ashmolean Museum. The book is and local controls for optimum
Museum’s already strong holdings smallest detail. Investigation continued a compendium to the exhibition temperature and humidity. Care of
of ceramics from twelfth- to after the opening of the exhibition on Mediterranean Threads: 18th and 19th the collections on site was paramount
thirteenth-century Iran, especially a number of vessels from excavations century Greek Embroideries premièred during this time, requiring a strong
in relation to lustreware. These at Pompeii. Scientific collaboration as an online display during lockdown collaboration between the Conservation,
objects were part of a large cache with the Department of Chemistry, as part of the Ashmolean From Security and Facilities teams.
of medieval vessels probably buried Professor Mark Robinson of Oxford Home Programme.
by a merchant in Gurgan (south-east University Museum of Natural History
At the same time we have contributed
of the Caspian Sea) before the Mongol and others uncovered new discoveries Checking for pests in the
towards bringing the designs of the
invasion of 1220. The objects were such as traces of urine in the waxy galleries during lockdown.
major new Collections Teaching and © Sue Stanton
found intact in the early 1940s. Acquired residue on a vessel, confirming its use
Research Centre to RIBA stage 4,
by N. E. Ades and his brother Clement, as a chamber pot, and the identification
enabling work to start on site in July.
the ceramics have been extensively of bitumen as a surface coating. Careful
CRTC brings together substantial
published and exhibited since. They examination of corrosion products on
areas of GLAM’s collections within
remained in the family until their recent another bowl uncovered and identified
the new Reuben College building,
donation in 2019 to the Ashmolean minute traces of insects captured
located at the centre of the University;
and other UK museums. in their last moments.
it also creates a state-of-the-art
Other projects include the conservation conservation laboratory, as well
of drawings and letters by William as other facilities. This unique space
Bowl with pseudo-inscription, Holman Hunt and Edward Burne-Jones, provides exceptional facilities for
Iran, twelfth to thirteenth century. generously supported by the Elizabeth teaching, research and digitisation,
Fritware, with painting in black
Cayzer Charitable Trust, and a and is due to open in October 2021.
under a turquoise glaze.
Accepted by HM Government paper copy of a tomb painting at
With the sudden closure of the Museum
under the Cultural Gift Scheme Hierakonpolis, 5 metres in length
this spring, however, our attention
from the Ades Family Collection and made by F. W. Green c.1899,
allocated to the Ashmolean focused on implementing a regular
supported by the Friends of Nekhen.
Museum, 2019. EA2019.60 regime of inspections.
24 ANNUAL REVIEW 2019/20 OUR PROGRAMME | CARING FOR THE COLLECTIONS 25You can also read
