Museum Secrets

Ashmolean Museum
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The curators at the University of Oxford's Ashmolean Museum have been recording bite-sized tales of the wonderful, and sometimes unexpected, life of a museum. We can’t wait to share them with you! Museum Secrets is produced and presented by Lucie Dawkins.

  1. Subscribe to Fingerprints, a new Ashmolean podcast

    SEASON 2, EPISODE 11 TRAILER

    Subscribe to Fingerprints, a new Ashmolean podcast

    Every object in the Ashmolean has passed from hand to hand to reach the Museum. In a new podcast, we uncover the invisible fingerprints left behind by makers, looters, archaeologists, soldiers, rulers, curators, and many more. These stories of touch reveal the ways in which the forces of conflict and colonialism have shaped Britain’s oldest Museum. Join the Ashmolean’s curators alongside artists, experts, and community members, for our new podcast: Fingerprints. Fingerprints will be released on the Ashmolean’s website, on Spotify, Apple, and wherever you get your podcasts, weekly from  21 January 2022 until 25 February 2022. Fingerprints is produced and hosted by Lucie Dawkins. Guests include Bénédicte Savoy, co-author of the Report on African Cultural Heritage, commissioned by Emmanuel Macron; Professor Dan Hicks, of Oxford’s Pitt Rivers Museum; and Simukai Chigudu, one of the founding members of the Rhodes Must Fall campaign. Support the show

    2 min

  2. 05/28/2021

    A Miniature Masterpiece

    Join Mallica Kumbera Landrus, the Keeper of Eastern Art, as she introduces us to a tiny drawing made by a child genius. This scrap of paper tells a story of cultures embracing each other across vast distances and the curiosity of one exceptional 13 year old boy in Mughal India, 421 years ago. Christ on the Cross, Albrecht Dürer, 1511 - Find out more Saint John the Evangelist, Abu l'-Hasan, 1600–1601 - Find out more If you want to take a closer look at the objects in this episode, you can view them at the links above, or visit the podcast page on the Ashmolean website: ashmolean.org/museum-secrets Producer: Lucie Dawkins Episode Presenter: Mallica Kumbera Landrus About Museum Secrets: Welcome to season 2 of Museum Secrets. Every week Lucie Dawkins will  take you behind the scenes at the University of Oxford's Ashmolean Museum. There are a million objects here in the Museum, each with its own hidden story. Come on in, as we track down the weird and wonderful among them, to give us a bitesized pick-me-up in these challenging times. Join us every week for a daily dose of cheer. Support the show

    14 min

  3. 05/21/2021

    Toad Vaccines and Magical Jewellery

    Join curator Matthew Winterbottom as he explores ancient beliefs about disease testing and vaccines, through the Ashmolean’s collection of toadstone rings. These bizarre pieces of jewellery have a lot to tell us about the human effort to find hope in the face of illness and uncertainty, even when it involves the strangest superstitions. And at the end of the day, it turns out that toadstones have nothing to do with toads after all… Charm ring with toadstone – Find out more Gold and toadstone ring - Find out more Silver and toadstone ring -  Find out more Silver and toadstone charm ring - Find out more If you want to take a closer look at the objects in this episode, you can view them at the links above, or visit the podcast page on the Ashmolean website: ashmolean.org/museum-secrets Producer: Lucie Dawkins Episode Presenters: Lucie Dawkins and Matthew Winterbottom About Museum Secrets: Welcome to season 2 of Museum Secrets. Every week Lucie Dawkins will  take you behind the scenes at the University of Oxford's Ashmolean Museum. There are a million objects here in the Museum, each with its own hidden story. Come on in, as we track down the weird and wonderful among them, to give us a bitesized pick-me-up in these challenging times. Join us every week for a daily dose of cheer. Support the show

    8 min

  4. 05/14/2021

    Rules for Life

    In this episode we take a look at an understated little painting by the artist Gwen John, which hides complex depths. Gwen was one of the greatest and least known artists of the 20th century, who lived a life according to her own rules – literally. Her memos to herself are a guidebook for finding joy in solitude, and living largely and deeply on your own terms. The Convalescent, by Gwen John – Find out more If you want to take a closer look at painting in this episode, you can view it at the link above, or visit the podcast page on the Ashmolean website: ashmolean.org/museum-secrets Producer and Presenter: Lucie Dawkins About Museum Secrets: Welcome to season 2 of Museum Secrets. Every week Lucie Dawkins will  take you behind the scenes at the University of Oxford's Ashmolean Museum. There are a million objects here in the Museum, each with its own hidden story. Come on in, as we track down the weird and wonderful among them, to give us a bitesized pick-me-up in these challenging times. Join us every week for a daily dose of cheer. Support the show

    10 min

  5. 05/07/2021

    Opening the Box

    Join teaching curator Jim Harris as he peers inside a tiny tortoiseshell box. The little box holds a secret portrait of a woman, with a lock of her hair. The tiny empty space inside is stuffed with hidden stories, about wealth and the often ugly means of making it. This polite and pretty little box has so much us to tell us about memory. Portrait of Sophie Schutz in a tortoiseshell box – Find out more If you want to take a closer look at artwork in this episode, you can view it at the link above, or visit the podcast page on the Ashmolean website: ashmolean.org/museum-secrets Producer: Lucie Dawkins Presenters: Lucie Dawkins and Jim Harris About Museum Secrets: Welcome to season 2 of Museum Secrets. Every week Lucie Dawkins will  take you behind the scenes at the University of Oxford's Ashmolean Museum. There are a million objects here in the Museum, each with its own hidden story. Come on in, as we track down the weird and wonderful among them, to give us a bitesized pick-me-up in these challenging times. Join us every week for a daily dose of cheer. Support the show

    17 min

  6. 04/30/2021

    Devilry and Pink Ribbons

    Join An Van Camp, the Assistant Keeper of Northern European Art, as she lifts the lid on some strange boxes in the Museum's stores. Some contain witches, others devils, others letters of the alphabet wrapped in pink ribbons. They all belonged to the same man – the eccentric Francis Douce. Dürer drawing of two witches – Find out more Portrait of Francis Douce – Find out more If you want to take a closer look at artworks relating to this episode, you can view them at the links above, or visit the podcast page on the Ashmolean website: ashmolean.org/museum-secrets Producer: Lucie Dawkins Presenters: Lucie Dawkins and An Van Camp About Museum Secrets: Welcome to season 2 of Museum Secrets. Every week Lucie Dawkins will  take you behind the scenes at the University of Oxford's Ashmolean Museum. There are a million objects here in the Museum, each with its own hidden story. Come on in, as we track down the weird and wonderful among them, to give us a bitesized pick-me-up in these challenging times. Join us every week for a daily dose of cheer. Support the show

    14 min

  7. 04/23/2021

    Soaring Above the Clouds

    Join Clare Pollard, the Curator of Japanese Art, as she gives us a tour of Japan’s first skyscraper, through a vibrant and intriguing print, with some hidden surprises. It tells a story of a turning point in Japanese history, and also doubles as a board game.  Ryōunkaku Tower Game – Find out more If you want to take a closer look at the woodblock print in this episode, you can view it at the link above, or visit the podcast page on the Ashmolean website: ashmolean.org/museum-secrets Producer: Lucie Dawkins Presenters: Lucie Dawkins and Clare Pollard About Museum Secrets: Welcome to season 2 of Museum Secrets. Every week Lucie Dawkins will  take you behind the scenes at the University of Oxford's Ashmolean Museum. There are a million objects here in the Museum, each with its own hidden story. Come on in, as we track down the weird and wonderful among them, to give us a bitesized pick-me-up in these challenging times. Join us every week for a daily dose of cheer. Support the show

    13 min

  8. 04/16/2021

    Ancient Egyptian Family Feud

    Meet Naunakhte, an Ancient Egyptian mother who has a bone to pick. There are only a handful of surviving records of the voices of Ancient Egyptian women, and here in the Ashmolean, we have one of them. Her last will and testament reveals a story of a family argument which still sounds familiar over three millennia later. Naunakhte's will – Find out more If you want to find out more about the object in this episode, you can read more on Wikipedia at the link above, or to take a closer look at it visit the podcast page on the Ashmolean website: ashmolean.org/museum-secrets Producer: Lucie Dawkins Presenter: Lucie Dawkins About Museum Secrets: Welcome to season 2 of Museum Secrets. Every week Lucie Dawkins will  take you behind the scenes at the University of Oxford's Ashmolean Museum. There are a million objects here in the Museum, each with its own hidden story. Come on in, as we track down the weird and wonderful among them, to give us a bitesized pick-me-up in these challenging times. Join us every week for a daily dose of cheer. Support the show

    8 min
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About

The curators at the University of Oxford's Ashmolean Museum have been recording bite-sized tales of the wonderful, and sometimes unexpected, life of a museum. We can’t wait to share them with you! Museum Secrets is produced and presented by Lucie Dawkins.

Information

  • Creator
    Ashmolean Museum
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2021
  • Episodes
    28
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2024 Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
  • Show Website
    Museum Secrets