Ashmolean Museum facts for kids
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| Established | 1683 |
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| Location | Beaumont Street, Oxford, England |
| Type | University Museum of Art and Archaeology |
The Ashmolean Museum is a famous museum in Oxford, England. It is known as the world's first university museum. This means it was the first museum to be part of a university.
The museum's first building was built between 1678 and 1683. It was made to hold a special collection of interesting objects. These objects were given to the University of Oxford by a man named Elias Ashmole in 1677.
Contents
A Look at Its History
Elias Ashmole's collection was built on items he received from two famous travelers and collectors. Their names were John Tradescant the elder and his son, who had the same name. These items were often called a "cabinet of curiosities."
The Ashmolean Museum first opened its doors on May 24, 1683. The first person in charge, called the keeper, was a naturalist named Robert Plot.
The building you see today was built in the 1840s. The original museum building is now the Oxford Museum of the History of Science. That first building was also special because it was the world's first museum built just for that purpose.
Modern Updates and New Spaces
The inside of the Ashmolean Museum has been made much more modern recently. Between 2006 and 2009, the museum got a big expansion. This rebuilding project cost a lot of money, about $98.2 million.
The museum grew from three floors to five floors. This change doubled the amount of space where they could show off their amazing collections. It also added new areas for taking care of old items and a special education center. In 2011, new galleries opened that focus on ancient Egypt and Nubia.
Amazing Things to See
The Ashmolean Museum has many incredible items from around the world. You can see ancient artifacts, beautiful paintings, and historical objects. Here are just a few examples of what you might find:
- The Alfred Jewel, a famous Anglo-Saxon piece of gold and enamel.
- Paintings by famous artists like Vincent van Gogh and Édouard Manet.
- The Messiah Stradivarius violin, a very rare and valuable musical instrument.
- Ancient Egyptian items like the Narmer Macehead and a statue of the crocodile god Sobek.
- Art from different times and places, including works by Michelangelo and Peter Paul Rubens.
- A death mask of Oliver Cromwell, a historical figure.
- The ceremonial cloak of Chief Powhatan.
Images for kids
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'The Brighton Pierrots', painted 1915 by Walter Sickert
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The Alfred Jewel
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'Music' by Edward Burne-Jones
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The "Two Dog Palette" from Hierakonpolis
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'Restaurant de la Sirène, Asnières', by Vincent van Gogh
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The Messiah Stradivarius violin
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'Portrait of Mademoiselle Claus', by Édouard Manet
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The Narmer Macehead
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'The Hunt in the Forest' by Paolo Uccello
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Statue of Sobek, the crocodile god, from the pyramid temple of Amenemhat III
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'Acme and Septimius', by Frederic Leighton, 1st Baron Leighton
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The 'Apotheosis of Germanicus', a copy after an antique Cameo painted in 1626 by Peter Paul Rubens
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The Return of the Dove to the Ark, by Sir John Everett Millais
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A Greek tragic mask dating to the 1st century BC or 1st century AD. See Theatre of ancient Greece.
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'A lady singing', gouache painting with gold on paper 1740-45, Rajasthan, artist unknown
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'Jeanne Holding a Fan', an oil on canvas painting by Camille Pissarro, c.1874
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'The Holy Family with St John the Baptist', brush and brown wash on panel by Michelangelo
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Tombstone, the doctor Claudius Agathemerus and his wife Myrtale, from Rome, about AD 100
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'Studies of the Heads of two Apostles and of their Hands', by Raphael
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A death mask of Oliver Cromwell
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Portrait of John Ruskin by John Everett Millais
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The ceremonial cloak of Chief Powhatan
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The Abingdon Sword
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'The Annunciation', attributed to Paolo Uccello
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The Kish tablet: plaster caste
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'Young Englishwoman', a costume study by Hans Holbein the Younger
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A self-portrait by Samuel Palmer
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Papyrus 115 (
115): a fragmented manuscript of the New Testament -
Wood-engraving of the Ashmolean c. 1845
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The museum's renovated central atrium in 2009
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Rive des Esclavons, by J. M. W. Turner, c. 1840
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Taichi Arch on the museum's forecourt, a sculpture by the artist Ju Ming
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View of Auvers-sur-Oise by Paul Cézanne
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The Sumerian Kings List, dating to approximately 1800 BC
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A Garden in Montmartre by Pierre-Auguste Renoir
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A coin of Domitianus II
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Egyptian Mummy Portrait
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The Virgin and Child, by Bernardino Pintoricchio
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Maharaja Bakhat Singh of Nagaur. ca. 1735
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Early Bronze Age Cycladic art figurine, 2800–2300 BC.
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The Kish tablet
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Guy Fawkes' Lantern, London, England c. 1605 Iron and horn
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So-called Cicero excavated by the Earl of Arundel in Rome between 1613 and 1614
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So-called Cicero excavated by the Earl of Arundel in Rome between 1613 and 1614
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Man wearing a toga excavated in Rome 1613-1614 and later given the name "Caius Marius"
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First century CE togate torso bearing a 17th century CE head dubbed Caius Marius by the Earl of Arundel excavated in 1613-1614 CE
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Statue of a woman with hairstyle dating to the later Roman Republican or Augustan period but body dating to 200-100 BCE
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Closeup of Statue of a woman with hairstyle dating to the later Roman Republican or Augustan period but body dating to 200-100 BCE
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The Oxford Bust or "Sappho" with head and torso coming from different statues and probably put together by a sculptor in the 1600s
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The Oxford Bust or "Sappho" with head and torso coming from different statues and probably put together by a sculptor in the 1600s View 2
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Portrait of a young man with hairstyle, facial features and long neck pointing to portraits made in the early 100s CE
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Sphinx commissioned by the Earl of Arundel to partner a Roman Sphinx, 17th century CE
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Sphinx, Roman, 50-200 CE.
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Fragment of a marble sarcophagus depicting two drunken boys from a Bacchic revel, made in Athens 140-150 CE
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See also
In Spanish: Museo Ashmolean para niños
