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Ever since it was founded in 1683, the Ashmolean Museum has been a place where academics and researchers come to study and be inspired by the collections.
Take a closer look at the Ashmolean's hidden treasures from the viewpoint of the experts. Academics from across the University of Oxford have chosen an object that relates to their research, revealing a whole world of ideas behind a single artefact. We hope that these specially curated podcasts, created by some of the University of Oxford's greatest minds, will encourage you to seek out your own hidden treasure in our vast collection.
Visit the Ashmolean collection and look out for the purple podcast leaflet and signage in the gallery to find the associated objects.
We are enormously grateful to Professor Raymond Dwek, CBE, FRS for his generous support of this new podcast project.
| # | Episode Title | Description | People | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Tombstone of a Muslim girl | On what were people’s feelings about death and the dead in North Africa a thousand years ago? What does this tombstone tell us? With Professor Julia Bray, Arabic, University of Oxford. | Julia Bray | 23 Jan 2017 | |
| 9 | Portrait of Mademoiselle Claus by Édouard Manet | Are Eastern Art and Western Art basically the same, and what is painting for? On Édouard Manet, Cézanne and their similarity to Chinese paintings. With Professor Craig Clunas Art History, University of Oxford. | Craig Clunas | 23 Jan 2017 | |
| 8 | Carved Stone Ball | We still do not know why these stone balls were created. They date to the late Neolithic or early Bronze Age, between 3200 and 1500 BC. | Marcus du Sautoy | 23 Jan 2017 | |
| 7 | Mummified Child | On growing up and dying in ancient and modern populations. | Sarah Harper | 23 Jan 2017 | |
| 6 | Ennui by Walter Richard Sickert | On Viginia Woolf's interpretation of Walter Sickert's painting of Ennui. | Dame Hermione Lee | 23 Jan 2017 | |
| 5 | Silver-gilt carriage clock | This travelling calendar carriage clock dates to 1747–1823. Why would such a clock need to have both lunar and sun time represented on it? With Professor Chris Lintott Astrophysics, University of Oxford. | Chris Lintott | 23 Jan 2017 | |
| 4 | Henry VIII Renaissance Medal | On Henry VIII and the Founding of the Church of England Minted at London in 1545, this medal shows a bust of Henry VIII, with inscriptions in Hebrew and Greek on the reverse. | Diarmaid MacCulloch | 23 Jan 2017 | |
| 3 | Arab robe worn by T. E. Lawrence | On Lawrence of Arabia and wearing Arab robes. T. E. Lawrence, or Lawrence of Arabia was infamous for his scruffy appearance when in the British Khaki uniform, and wore it as little as possible. | Eugene Rogan | 23 Jan 2017 | |
| 2 | Meissen porcelain chocolate cup and tea bowl | On arranged marriages among royalty. | Helen Watanabe-O'Kelly | 23 Jan 2017 | |
| 1 | Lion Statue | On whether there were ever lions in Egypt. Today, there are no lions roaming wild in north Africa, but evidence from ancient Egypt suggests that lions once did. | David Whyte Macdonald | 23 Jan 2017 |