Thinking with Things: The Oxford Collection

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.

Ashmolean podcast page Ashmolean Museum

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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 episodes

Episode	Description	People	Date
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 January, 2017
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 January, 2017
Meissen porcelain chocolate cup and tea bowl	On arranged marriages among royalty.	Helen Watanabe-O'Kelly	23 January, 2017
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 January, 2017
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 January, 2017
Ennui by Walter Richard Sickert	On Viginia Woolf's interpretation of Walter Sickert's painting of Ennui.	Dame Hermione Lee	23 January, 2017
Mummified Child	On growing up and dying in ancient and modern populations.	Sarah Harper	23 January, 2017
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 January, 2017
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 January, 2017
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 January, 2017

Thinking with Things: The Oxford Collection

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