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’.

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.

Each choice reflects a personal memory, feeling, or aesthetic connection to nature itself.  The flowers and plants here are connect with Ai Weiwei, Angelica Huston and Duncan Grant. See these works on display as part of In Bloom: How Plants Changed Our World, open until 16 August.

  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.

These models were made by Robert and Reinhold Brendel, a father-son duo, who brought together the science of botanists and the skills of model-makers, to create nearly 200 handmade models. See these groundbreaking models on display in In Bloom: How Plants Changed Our World, open until 16 Aug.

Instead of relying on illustrations, scientifically accurate models, like these, were introduced to teaching. They are incredibly detailed and could be taken apart to give students an understanding of the microscopic structure of plants.

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.

This vibrant baluster vase with chrysanthemums is from Nagoya, Japan and was made in the early 1900s. The floral pattern is made from vitreous coloured enamels, held together only by a framework of delicate wires.

Happy #SummerSolstice! Stonehenge, believed to have been constructed between 3100 BCE and 1600 BCE, was designed to align with the sun on the summer and winter solstices.

📢 We are delighted to announce a new exhibition for 2027 📢 Renaissance Worlds: Art and the Senses will open in June 2027. Uncover a time shaped by global exchange and alive with colour, texture, music, spices, entertainment and fragrance.

Windrush Day, marked annually on 22 June, is a celebration of the stories, cultures, and contributions of the Windrush Generation. It is being celebrated across Oxford this weekend with a programme events, talks, exhibitions and community activities: www.facebook.com/oxfordwindrush

This wallpaper design was created by Bamidele Awoyemi and Sobiah Harry, part of a creative team who shaped the Shedding Light installation. This important display recreates a Caribbean living room to reveal the intertwined histories of colonialism, enslavement, sugar production, and ceramics.

Sugarcane, ships, teacups and broken chains represent the history of colonialism, enslavement and emancipation in the Caribbean. This is the historical backdrop from which the Windrush generation emerged — a context that must not be allowed to fade.

Wallpaper often fades into the background, setting the scene without asking to be noticed. But here, the pattern speaks.