25-471: The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology ( / æ ʃ ˈ m oʊ l i ən , ˌ æ ʃ m ə ˈ l iː ən / ) on Beaumont Street , Oxford , England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University of Oxford in 1677. It is also the world's second university museum , after the establishment of
50-458: Is an architectural practice, founded in 1983 by Birkin Haward and Joanna van Heyningen, and now owned and managed by James McCosh and Meryl Townley. The London architects work primarily in education, and have also worked in the heritage, community and health sectors. In 2010 the practice produced a monograph detailing their work to date; van Heyningen and Haward – Buildings and Projects . The book
75-709: Is one of the FBI's Top Ten Art Crimes. In 2010 several of the Egypt Exploration Society 's Oxyrhynchus Papyri held by the museum were allegedly stolen from the collection and sold to the American Museum of the Bible . In 2024, the museum agreed to return a 500-year-old bronze sculpture of the Hindu poet and saint Thirumangai Alvar that it had purchased at an auction at Sotheby's in 1967, after
100-661: The Indian High Commission in the United Kingdom filed a claim stating that the item was stolen from a temple in Tamil Nadu in 1957. Beaumont Street Beaumont Street is a street in the centre of Oxford , England . The street was laid out from 1828 to 1837 with elegant terraced houses in the Regency style . Before that, it was the location of Beaumont Palace , now noted by a plaque near
125-530: The Kunstmuseum Basel in 1661 by the University of Basel . The present building was built between 1841 and 1845. The museum reopened in 2009 after a major redevelopment, and in November 2011, new galleries focusing on Egypt and Nubia were unveiled. In May 2016, the museum also opened redisplayed galleries of 19th-century art. The museum opened on 24 May 1683, with naturalist Robert Plot as
150-712: The Museum of the History of Science , with exhibitions including the scientific instruments given to Oxford University by Lewis Evans , amongst them the world's largest collection of astrolabes . Charles Buller Heberden left £1,000 (£56,000 as of 2024) to the university in 1921, which was used for the Coin Room at the museum. In 2012, the Ashmolean was awarded a grant of $ 1.1m by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to establish
175-552: The Randolph , is on the corner with Magdalen Street, designed by William Wilkinson in the Victorian Gothic style and built in 1864. An extension was added in 1952 to the west, designed by J. Hopgood. The Institute of Archaeology , part of Oxford University's School of Archaeology , was established in 1962 and is located at 36 Beaumont Street. The British poet and translator Francis William Bourdillon wrote about
200-605: The University Engagement Programme or UEP. The programme employs three teaching curators and a programme director to develop the use of the museum's collections in the teaching and research of the university. The interior of the Ashmolean has been extensively modernised in recent years and now includes a restaurant and large gift shop. In 2000, the Chinese Picture Gallery, designed by van Heyningen and Haward Architects , opened at
225-620: The Ashmole collection and had converted the original building into the Examination Rooms. Charles Drury Edward Fortnum had offered to donate his personal collection of antiques on condition that the museum was put on a sound footing. A donation of £10,000 from Fortnum (£1.44 million as of 2024) enabled Evans to build an extension to the University Galleries and move the Ashmolean collection there in 1894. In 1908,
250-617: The Ashmolean and the University Galleries were combined as the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology. The museum became a depository for some of the important archaeological finds from Evans' excavations in Crete. After the various specimens had been moved into new museums, the "Old Ashmolean" building was used as office space for the Oxford English Dictionary . Since 1924, the building has been established as
275-543: The Ashmolean opened to the public the new galleries of Ancient Egypt and Nubia . This second phase of major redevelopment now allows the museum to exhibit objects that have been in storage for decades, more than doubling the number of coffins and mummies on display. The project received lead support from Lord Sainsbury's Linbury Trust , along with the Selz Foundation, Mr Christian Levett, as well as other trusts, foundations, and individuals. Rick Mather Architects led
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#1732765622246300-564: The Ashmolean's collection include: Recent major bequests and acquisitions include: In 2013 a museum was opened in the 17th-century "Tudor House" at Broadway, Worcestershire , in the Cotswolds, in partnership with the Ashmolean Museum. In 2017 the museum became known as the Broadway Museum and Art Gallery. The collection includes paintings and furniture from the founding collections of the Ashmolean Museum, given by Elias Ashmole to
325-507: The Beaumont Street legend in his poem "Wherefrom": Just at the end of Beaumont Street, In front of Worcester walls, Strange shrieks of woe the passer greet, As every footstep falls. The street is a favoured location for dentists and doctors . 51°45′18″N 1°15′39″W / 51.7550°N 1.2608°W / 51.7550; -1.2608 Van Heyningen and Haward Architects van Heyningen and Haward
350-491: The University of Oxford in 1683, and local exhibits expand upon elements of the timeline of the village. Upcoming planned exhibitions include: Major exhibitions in recent years include: Beginning in 1973, the position of Keeper was superseded by that of Director: On 31 December 1999, during the fireworks that accompanied the celebration of the millennium , thieves used scaffolding on an adjoining building to climb onto
375-533: The best collections of Pre-Raphaelite paintings, majolica pottery, and English silver. The archaeology department includes the bequest of Arthur Evans and so has a collection of Greek and Minoan pottery. The department also has an extensive collection of antiquities from Ancient Egypt and the Sudan , and the museum hosts the Griffith Institute for the advancement of Egyptology . Highlights of
400-589: The display of loan exhibitions and works by contemporary Chinese artists. It is the only museum gallery in Britain devoted to Chinese paintings. The Bodleian Art, Archaeology and Ancient World Library (formerly the Sackler Library ), incorporating the older library collections of the Ashmolean, opened in 2001 and has allowed an expansion of the book collection, which concentrates on classical civilization, archaeology, and art history. Between 2006 and 2009,
425-457: The entrance of the Ashmolean and is partly integrated into the structure. It was inserted into a lightwell in the Grade I listed building and was designed to support future construction from its roof. Apart from the original Cockerell spaces, this gallery was the only part of the museum retained in the rebuilding. The gallery houses the Ashmolean's own collection and is also used from time to time for
450-589: The first keeper. The building on Broad Street (later known as the Old Ashmolean ) is sometimes attributed to Sir Christopher Wren or Thomas Wood. Elias Ashmole had acquired the collection from the gardeners, travellers, and collectors John Tradescant the Elder and his son, John Tradescant the Younger . It included antique coins, books, engravings, geological specimens, and zoological specimens—one of which
475-411: The junction with Walton Street . Nikolaus Pevsner considered it "the finest street ensemble of Oxford". Kings Richard I (reigned 1189–1199) and John (reigned 1199–1216), both sons of Henry II , were born at Beaumont Palace on 8 September 1157 and 24 December 1166 respectively. At the western end is Worcester College and the junction with Walton Street to the north and Worcester Street to
500-551: The modern languages faculty of the university, standing on the corner of Beaumont Street and St Giles' Street. This wing of the building was also designed by Charles Cockerell, using the Ionic order of Greek architecture. Sir Arthur Evans , who was appointed keeper in 1884 and retired in 1908, is largely responsible for the current museum. Evans found that the keeper and the vice-chancellor ( Benjamin Jowett ) had managed to lose half of
525-474: The museum was expanded to the designs of architect Rick Mather and the exhibition design company Metaphor , supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund . The $ 98.2 million rebuilding resulted in five floors instead of three, with a doubling of the display space, as well as new conservation studios and an education centre. The renovated museum re-opened on 7 November 2009. On 26 November 2011,
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#1732765622246550-681: The redesign and display of the four previous Egypt galleries and the extension to the restored Ruskin Gallery, previously occupied by the museum shop. In May 2016, the museum opened new galleries dedicated to the display of its collection of Victorian art. This development allowed for the return to the Ashmolean of the Great Bookcase , designed by William Burges , and described as "the most important example of Victorian painted furniture ever made." The main museum contains huge collections of archaeological specimens and fine art. It has one of
575-454: The roof of the museum and stole Cézanne 's landscape painting View of Auvers-sur-Oise . Valued at £3 million, the painting has been described as an important work illustrating the transition from early to mature Cézanne painting. As the thieves ignored other works in the same room, and the stolen Cézanne has not been offered for sale, it is speculated that this was a case of an artwork stolen to order. The Cézanne has not been recovered and
600-606: The south. Halfway along to the north is St John Street . To the south is the Oxford Playhouse , designed by Sir Edward Maufe and built in 1938, where many university productions are held. To the north at the eastern end is the Ashmolean Museum . Opposite the eastern end is the Martyrs' Memorial . Here, Beaumont Street adjoins St Giles' to the north and Magdalen Street to the south. Oxford's foremost hotel,
625-520: Was the stuffed body of the last dodo ever seen in Europe; but by 1755 the stuffed dodo was so moth-eaten that it was destroyed, except for its head and one claw. The present building dates from 1841 to 1845. It was designed as the University Galleries by Charles Cockerell in a classical style and stands on Beaumont Street. One wing of the building is occupied by the Taylor Institution ,
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