Have you ever heard of menuki? These beautiful objects are an example of a pair from the Ashmolean’s collection. Menuki are sword-grip ornaments on Japanese swords and daggers, they come in pairs and are placed asymmetrically on either side of the handle.

This ring, featuring a fragment of gold-glass, depicts a roaring lion. At only 1.8 cm across, the animal is depicted in extraordinary detail. Roman gold-glass images began as parts of glass bowls. Images were made by engraving a picture onto a sheet of gold leaf.

🚨 Don't miss your chance to see In Bloom: How Plants Changed Our World, this major exhibition closes on 16 August. ★ ★ ★ ★ The Guardian ★ ★ ★ ★ The Times Plan your visit and book your tickets: www.ashmolean.org/exhibition/i...

These delicate explorations of rosebuds were drawn and painted by May Morris (1862–1938), an influential embroiderer and designer of the Arts & Crafts movement in late-19th-century Britain.

This beautiful, jewelled disc brooch dates from the Anglo-Saxon period and was found in Kent. It is made from gilded silver, and features seven cut garnets. Disc-style brooches set with garnets, such as this one, were popular during the early Anglo Saxon period.

🐚✨ Booking is now open for Aphrodite: The Making of a Goddess. Step into the world of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, beauty, and desire — later worshipped by the Romans as Venus. This major exhibition opens on 8 October 2026, book your tickets: ashmolean.org/exhibition/a...

What is your favourite bird? These little sparrows are a detail of a two-fold painted and embroidered screen by Takeuchi Seihō.

Here are 84 gold hares, each one around 1.1cm long. They're each slightly different, but it's hard to choose a favourite. Every one of these hares was excavated from the same grave at Nymphaeum in the Crimea.

May this ceramic citron brighten your morning! This sculpture of a citron comes from the workshop of the Della Robbia family in Florence and was made between 1500 and 1520. The Della Robbia family workshop was famous for the tin-glazed terracotta relief sculptures it created.

Checkmate! ♟️ Today is International Chess Day. To celebrate, we are sharing some of the chess pieces we have in the Ashmolean’s collection. Which is your favourite piece?

French artist Edgar Degas was born in Paris on this day in 1834. He was famous for his paintings, drawings, prints and bronze sculptures. Today, he is considered one of the founding artists of the Impressionist movement, but he considered himself more of a Realist.

This distinctive deep blue glazed oval dish is from the early 17th-century and is a piece of Palissy ware. The term Palissy ware describes ceramics produced in the style of famous French potter, Bernard Palissy who referred to his own work as ‘rustique’.

This Saturday we'll be welcoming families & their friends of all ages to @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social from 11am–4pm for the #CBA (free!) #Festival of #Archaeology. Come along & explore how people used plants in the past! #archaeobotany #crafting 🌷🌼 Event details👇 www.ashmolean.org/event/festiv...

FESTIVAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY 2026

Join our Festival of Archaeology day for all the family and take part in a range of exciting, free activities and tours across the Museum and its galleries.

ashmolean.org

Roaring for victory! As England and Argentina go head to head in tonight’s World Cup semi-final, we’re celebrating with three epic lions from our collection.

Our FREE Festival of Archaeology takes place this Saturday, 18 July. Join us from 11am to 4pm to dig into the archaeology of plants. Explore hands-on making, object handling, storytelling, weaving, poetry and sensory activities for all ages. Full programme: www.ashmolean.org/event/festiv...

We are delighted to share that Maliha Abidi is the winner of the 2026 Vivien Leigh prize. The prize is awarded annually to a for a 2D work of art on paper by an undergraduate or Masters student at the Ruskin School of Art. The winning artist's work enters the Ashmolean's collection.

Serving up strawberries for the @wimbledon finals this weekend! See this work by Jan Jansz van de Velde III on display in Gallery 48 on Level 2. 🍓 Still Life with Strawberries and Cherries, 1658. Oil on panel, 38 x 30 cm. WA1940.2.85

Camille Pissarro, born on this day in 1830, was one of the most celebrated artists of 19th-century France and a central figure in Impressionism. His work was enormously influential and inspired artists from Claude Monet and Paul Cézanne.

This beautiful gold earring is from Gandhara, an ancient South Asian region located in what is now north-western Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan. Desirable because of its strategic location, access to silk routes and ports, Gandhara had been conquered by many civilisations over hundreds of years.

Made in early 17th century England, this lady’s cap features a beautifully detailed botanical design. The scrolling gold-work design forms compartments containing strawberries, honeysuckle, cowslips, a foxglove-like flower and the distinctive spiked blue borage flower.

Bull-leaping is one of the most enduring images from the Aegean Bronze Age. This image features on frescoes and objects from the Palace of Knossos and could be linked with the passing down of the myth of the Minotaur.

  If you could choose any flower or plant to represent your life, what would you chose?  These prints are drawn from Kate Friend’s ‘As Chosen By...’ series, which features portraits of plants and flowers selected by public figures.

Would you like to embroider this pattern? Designed by May Morris in 1887–1888, it was the opening illustration for her article on embroidery in ‘Hobby Horse’, a Victorian periodical.

This is one of the earliest recorded Anglo-Saxon finds in the Ashmolean’s collection. Dating back to the later 5th century, this gold pendant may have been brought to England by immigrants or contacts from the area of northern Germany.

This striking dish dates back to early 18th century China where it was created in the Jingdezhen kilns. It is decorated with overglaze enamels, a technique that allows for more vibrant colours and intricate details.

Models like these revolutionised the way we understand plants! In the 1880s, momentous discoveries and achievements radically changed the way plant sciences were taught.

☀️🍦 There's ice cream on the Museum forecourt!🍦☀️ Our Jude's ice cream cart is open from 11.30 to 5.30pm during summer. 🏛️ If you are visiting, find cooler spaces throughout Including our In Bloom exhibition, galleries on the lower ground floor and between gallery 35 & 41.

This beautiful bag dates from early 17th century England. These small bags, often called sweet bags, were filled with scented herbs. They could also have been used for small gifts or to hold alms.

This delightful object is an ojime in the form of an aubergine. It dates from early 20th-century Japan, and is made from an alloy of gold and copper called shakudō. An ojime is a bead used to fasten the drawstring of a purse, or the cords of an inrō (tiered lacquer carrying case).

This delicate sculpture of a gazelle is roughly 8000 years old! It looks as though it has been broken at the neck and it may have been part of a larger sculpture. The shape reflects a deep understanding of the animal’s form by the sculptor.