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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 6h

Hear it from our visitors...

Explore the visual art of Stanley Donwood and Thom Yorke and the iconic images of Radiohead, This Is What You Get is open until January 2026.

🎟️ Book your tickets today: www.ashmolean.org/exhibition/t...

🏛️ Ashmolean Members go for free.

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 1d

Curved brushes are used to reach down the narrow neck of the bottle and the image is built up almost in reverse. Fine details are added first before the large image is created and colour added.

Both of these little snuff bottles were created by the same artist, Zhongshan Ye.

🖌️EAX.718

🖌️EAX.719

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 1d

🎨 The decoration painted onto these bottles is on the inside of the glass!

The process is known as verre églomisé, it is an application that not only requires special tools but an incredible level of skill.

A glass bottle painted from the inside with a rural Chinese scene with three women sitting under a tree

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 3d

It was found in a tomb that contained other gold ornaments, bronze and silver vessels, and a bronze mirror; this selection of objects indicates that the grave belonged to a woman.

See it on display in Gallery 16 on Level G.

🍂 Gold necklace, 500–401 BCE, Crimea. AN1885.482

A gold necklace with pendants in the shape of acorns hanging across the whole piece

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 3d

This striking gold necklace was made over 2,400 years ago. In ancient Greece, acorns were symbols of abundance and fertility, and used as decoration on gold objects.

The necklace was excavated over 150 years ago from the necropolis of Nymphaion in the Crimea, previously an ancient Greek colony.

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 4d

This new display within the European Ceramics Gallery is the outcome of a collaboration, bringing together a group of Oxford-based producers with artists, project consultants and a Museum team.

Shedding Light opens today, plan your visit: www.ashmolean.org/european-cer...

EUROPEAN CERAMICS GALLERY

The ceramics on display in this gallery cover 500 years of production ranging from the distinctive 17th century Staffordshire slipware by Thomas Toft and Worcester porcelain pieces to the Japanese…

www.ashmolean.org

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 4d

We are delighted to introduce you to Shedding Light, a new permanent display.

Through the creation of a 1950-60s Caribbean living room, Shedding Light reveals the intertwined histories of colonialism, enslavement, sugar production, and ceramics.

A photograph of an element of the Shedding Light display - a light bulb surrounded by fragments

A photograph of the Shedding Light display

A photograph of a detail of the Shedding Light display - a set of ceramics laid out on a table

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 5d

Sadly, for Domitianus, the extreme rarity of this coin – only the second known in existence – suggests that his bid for power is unlikely to have lasted more than a few days or weeks. The coin of this ‘lost emperor’ gives us a fascinating insight into the period between 200 and 300 CE

HCR6264.

An ancient Roman coin with nicks missing around the edge and a figure in the centre.

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 5d

Have you ever heard of the emperor Domitianus?

This remarkable coin discovered on farmland near Chalgrove in 2003 provides proof that a man named Domitianus claimed to be emperor in the early 270s CE. It was fused in a mass of nearly five thousand coins within a partially intact Roman jar.

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 8d

Flambé glazes such as this require high-firing temperatures and the exact results are not entirely controllable. They rely on many factors such as the thickness of the glaze application and the kiln’s atmosphere.

🍐 Pear-shaped bottle. EA1989.13

A pear-shaped Japanese bottle with a vibrant and highly reflective green glaze. There are also hints of yellow and blue

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 8d

🍐This beautiful pear-shaped porcelain bottle from Japan is covered in a distinctive green flambé glaze.

It was made by Ishiguro Kōkō of the Sumida Pottery in Tokyo, named after the nearby Sumida River.

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 8d

After studying at the South Kensington School of Design, Morris took over the embroidery section of her father’s company, Morris & Co, in 1885. From this point, almost all new designs produced by the company were by May and her father’s assistant John Henry Dearl.

🌿WA1941.108.162
🌿WA1941.108.161

A watercolour drawing of an elderberry leaf and fruit with dark blue/black berries

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 8d

These delicate studies of a spring and a stem of elderberry were captured by May Morris. 🌿

May Morris (1862–1938) was an influential embroiderer and designer of the Arts & Crafts movement in mid-19th-century Britain.

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 9d

Discover our new range of exquisitely detailed jewellery charms, replicating beloved favourites from the Ashmolean collection.

Shop online: shop.ashmolean.org/collections/...

A photograph of an arm wearing a beautiful bracelet decorated with Ashmolean charms

A photograph of the Ashmolean charms range and a charm bracelet

A charm bracelet decorated with Ashmolean charms including an Alfred Jewel charm, Guy Fawkes lantern charm and more

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 11d

In 17th-century England, embroidered boxes like this were treasured possessions, holding personal keepsakes while displaying the maker's artistic talents. Biblical scenes, myths, and everyday life were all popular decoration choices.

🧵 c. 1665. Silk, metal threads, silver feet. WA1947.191.315

A heavily detailed embroidered box with a lock and four round feet

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 11d

This embroidery might have been made by a woman named Miss Bluitt, though we can't be certain. What we do know is that creating something like this was only possible for wealthy families - the materials were expensive and the time investment was enormous.

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 11d

Look closely and you'll see the amazing details - figures and animals are brought to life with subtle colour shading that makes them almost pop off the fabric. The clothing sparkles with tiny pearl-like beads meant to look like buttons and necklaces. Some parts even use what’s called "raised work".

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 11d

🧵 Today we might share what we create online. But in the 17th century, some accomplished women showcased their talent on treasure boxes.

This embroidered box from around 1665 is an impressive example. Created in England, it features scenes from the life of Abraham, stitched with incredible skill.

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 12d

Imaginary Landscapes: join us for an inspiring music and poetry performance with leading poet, author and raconteur, Chris Tutton and harpist, Lucy Nolan. Fri 3 Oct, 2–3pm, book your tickets: www.ashmolean.org/event/imagin...

A photograph of Chris Tutton holding a book next to a photo of Lucy Nolan playing the harp

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 12d

A misty autumn morning in Éragny, captured by Camille Pissarro.

He painted this view of the orchard from the studio window in 1902.

You can see this artwork on display in our Pissarro gallery on the third floor.

🍂 Autumn, Morning Mist, Éragny, Camille Pissarro, 1902. WA1951.225.5

An oil painting depicting a misty autumnal morning with trees starting to lose leaves. Two figures are in the foreground.

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 13d

It was created by the Kyoto-based pottery workshop run by the Kinkōzan family which was founded in the 17th century and became one of the largest producers of export ceramics in late 19th-century Japan.

Art Nouveau style vase with chrysanthemums, 1900–1905, Sōbe Kinkōzan (1868–1927). EA1997.41

Close up detail of a green and white vase with pierced and painted flowers and leaves all over the surface

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 13d

💐 What are your favourite flowers? 💐

This stunning vase from Japan features large and small chrysanthemum flowers and leaves glazed in natural colours and intricately pierced.

A green and white vase with pierced and painted flowers and leaves all over the surface

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 14d

Open until 11 January, plan your visit and book your tickets: www.ashmolean.org/exhibition/t...

Ashmolean Members enjoy unlimited free entry.

THIS IS WHAT YOU GET EXHIBITION

Showcasing the visual art of Stanley Donwood and Thom Yorke and the iconic images of Radiohead, this major retrospective opens in 2025.

www.ashmolean.org

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 14d

This Is What You Get details spotted across the Museum 📸

The exhibition reveals how Stanley Donwood and Thom Yorke experimented with early technology, and the evolution of the images for Radiohead’s legendary albums and Yorke’s later projects.

A photograph of a large banner inside the museum advertising This Is What You Get

An artwork of a monstrous figure over a window overlooking the Ashmolean Museum

The front of the Ashmolean Museum decorated with banners advertising This Is What You Get

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 16d

This evening marks the beginning of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.

Pomegranates are seen as symbols of fruitfulness and wisdom, and are traditionally eaten at Rosh Hashanah.

This small pomegranate-shaped juglet, excavated in Jerusalem, was made around 700–587 BCE.

📷 AN1968.1371

A rusty-red coloured juglet in the shape of a pomegranate

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