Egypt
For those of you who have read the blog over the last year you'll probably have noticed the occasonal report about the massive refurbishment at the Ashmolean Museum (Oxford, UK), which lead to it being closed for a period. I went with a friend to see it on Thursday, to see the archaeological sections.
The first thing to highlight is that the Egyptology section hasn't changed. One or two artefacts seem to have been moved around but that's all. The refurbishment did not include the four ancient Egyptian galleries are much as they were. Sadly the wall of Amarna relief fragments is no longer illuminated and they are almost impossible to see.
We had a look at other archaeology sections that interested us both. The new design is modern, clean and attractive. The presentation of the objects themselves has changed considerably and I am very much in two minds about how successful that it actually is.
My friend described the presentation as taking an art gallery approach, which really hits the nail on the head. Instead of showing lots of artefacts and giving a wide view of a place the new presentation takes the most attractie or remarkable of the collection and, with beautiful lighting, presents them as highlights of an area. Information boards help to describe the galleries, but there is a loss of the sense of variety and depth which the rather untidy layout surviving in the ancient Egyptian galleries still maintains.
I found the new Ashmolean quite beautiful but much less informative. I would have liked to have seen a much better balance between attractive presentation cabinets and the volume and richness of displays you would expect to see in a museum so closely tied in with a research institution like Oxford University.
I suppose that there's never going to be a way of pleasing everyone with such a dramatic re-invention.
- Ashmolean To Open Refurbished Galleries Of Egypt And Nubia
Design Week (Angus Montgomery) The new Galleries of Ancient Egypt and Nubia (modern-day Sudan) will open on 26 November and feature the Ashmolean’s Egyptian collections and objects that have been in storage for decades. Architectural and interior...
- Oxford's Ashmolean Museum Improving Its Egyptian Galleries
Gadling (Sean McLachlan) The famous Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology in Oxford, England, reopened in 2009 after a £61 million ($101 million) makeover. The redesigned space is more open and airy, with more natural light and windows between exhibitions....
- Plans To Refurbish Egyptian Galleries At The Ashmolean
Oxford Mail (Reg Little) A £5M redevelopment is being planned at Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum to showcase the museum’s world famous collections from ancient Egypt. Only eight months after the new Ashmolean was opened by the Queen following a £61m...
- Daily Photo - Egypt At The Pitt-rivers
After visiting the newly re-opened galleries at the Ashmolean in Oxford (U.K.), we made a visit to the Pitt-Rivers Museum. I've been to the Ashmolean many times but the Pitt-Rivers was new to me, and something of a surprise. Artefacts are arranged...
- Ashmolean Museum (oxford Uk) Gallery Closures
Ashmolean Museum It has been announced that the Ashmolean Museum's Egyptian galleries will be closed on a temporary basis owing to current construction work in the museum's redevelopment project. Some galleries will be closed until 5th October...
Egypt
A visit to the Ashmolean Museum
For those of you who have read the blog over the last year you'll probably have noticed the occasonal report about the massive refurbishment at the Ashmolean Museum (Oxford, UK), which lead to it being closed for a period. I went with a friend to see it on Thursday, to see the archaeological sections.The first thing to highlight is that the Egyptology section hasn't changed. One or two artefacts seem to have been moved around but that's all. The refurbishment did not include the four ancient Egyptian galleries are much as they were. Sadly the wall of Amarna relief fragments is no longer illuminated and they are almost impossible to see.
We had a look at other archaeology sections that interested us both. The new design is modern, clean and attractive. The presentation of the objects themselves has changed considerably and I am very much in two minds about how successful that it actually is.
My friend described the presentation as taking an art gallery approach, which really hits the nail on the head. Instead of showing lots of artefacts and giving a wide view of a place the new presentation takes the most attractie or remarkable of the collection and, with beautiful lighting, presents them as highlights of an area. Information boards help to describe the galleries, but there is a loss of the sense of variety and depth which the rather untidy layout surviving in the ancient Egyptian galleries still maintains.
I found the new Ashmolean quite beautiful but much less informative. I would have liked to have seen a much better balance between attractive presentation cabinets and the volume and richness of displays you would expect to see in a museum so closely tied in with a research institution like Oxford University.
I suppose that there's never going to be a way of pleasing everyone with such a dramatic re-invention.
- Ashmolean To Open Refurbished Galleries Of Egypt And Nubia
Design Week (Angus Montgomery) The new Galleries of Ancient Egypt and Nubia (modern-day Sudan) will open on 26 November and feature the Ashmolean’s Egyptian collections and objects that have been in storage for decades. Architectural and interior...
- Oxford's Ashmolean Museum Improving Its Egyptian Galleries
Gadling (Sean McLachlan) The famous Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology in Oxford, England, reopened in 2009 after a £61 million ($101 million) makeover. The redesigned space is more open and airy, with more natural light and windows between exhibitions....
- Plans To Refurbish Egyptian Galleries At The Ashmolean
Oxford Mail (Reg Little) A £5M redevelopment is being planned at Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum to showcase the museum’s world famous collections from ancient Egypt. Only eight months after the new Ashmolean was opened by the Queen following a £61m...
- Daily Photo - Egypt At The Pitt-rivers
After visiting the newly re-opened galleries at the Ashmolean in Oxford (U.K.), we made a visit to the Pitt-Rivers Museum. I've been to the Ashmolean many times but the Pitt-Rivers was new to me, and something of a surprise. Artefacts are arranged...
- Ashmolean Museum (oxford Uk) Gallery Closures
Ashmolean Museum It has been announced that the Ashmolean Museum's Egyptian galleries will be closed on a temporary basis owing to current construction work in the museum's redevelopment project. Some galleries will be closed until 5th October...