Exploring Oxford's GLAM sites

To celebrate International Museum Day, staff members from some of the Garden, Libraries and Museums (GLAM) institutions showcase the diverse range of things to see and do across the University's cultural sites. From natural history to major art exhibitions, each site offers a unique experience for staff, students and visitors. 

Ashmolean Museum

Interview with An Van Camp, Christopher Brown Assistant Keeper of Northern European Art and Curator of Bruegel to Rubens: Great Flemish Drawings 

Friendship Contribution by Abraham Ortelius, in Album Amicorum of Emanuel van Meteren, 1576 and 1577

What's your favourite object from the new Bruegel to Rubens exhibition? 

My absolute favourite object in the Bruegel to Rubens exhibition is a friendship album displayed in the last gallery, in the section devoted to Independent Drawings. Friendship books (also called album amicorum) were used to collect drawings, literary quotes or even just a signature from your friends and colleagues. The practice still exists nowadays in Europe, but the example in the exhibition is a rare survival from the late sixteenth century. It belonged to the Antwerp historian Emanuel van Meteren, who wrote a book on the History of the Netherlands. His album contains dozens of contributions by his contemporaries, both his family, friends and colleagues. 

The album pages shown are those contributed by his uncle Abraham Ortelius, the famous cartographer, who is credited for compiling the first printed atlas (a bound volume containing maps). On the right side, created in Antwerp in 1576, Ortelius has pasted a carefully cut-out print with his own portrait, accompanied by his life motto and a dedication to his beloved nephew. Surprisingly, on the left-hand page, he has made a second contribution, only a year later, mentioning that the friendship book had been confiscated by the Spanish Inquisition in the meantime. 

Both Van Meteren and Ortelius had Protestant sympathies and it is likely the Catholic Spanish confiscated the album in order to track their network. After it was returned to its owner, Ortelius drew a symbol of a serpent coiled around a pile of books. This can be interpreted as the Spanish king Philip II, depicting him as an evil creature attacking books which had been banned. Ortelius also noted that “barbarians” had stolen Van Meteren’s book. He took great risk by including such obvious insults to the Spanish king, but by then he and his nephew had already fled to safety in London, in the more tolerant England. 

What makes this exhibition a must-see? 

Bruegel to Rubens is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see some of the best Flemish drawings created in the 16th and 17th centuries. The selection of almost 120 sheets was made from public and private collections in Antwerp and Oxford, including some drawings which have never been exhibited before. 

Many of the sheets will also not be displayed for the next 5-10 years as they will need to be 'rested' for conservation reasons. In addition to some famous names like Pieter Bruegel, Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony van Dyck, hugely talented artists (but lesser known to the wider public) such as Hans Bol, Joris Hoefnagel, Maerten de Vos, Jacques Jordaens and Jan van der Straet are included too. The exhibition is not only the first major exhibition on Flemish drawings in the UK, but also unique in presenting the sheets from the perspective of their function. By focusing on how and why they were made, the drawings become easier understood by visitors. 

Bruegel to Rubens: Great Flemish Drawings is open until 23 June 2024 at the Ashmolean Museum with free entry for Oxford students. 

History of Science Museum

Interview with Sumner Braund, Research Fellow and Curator of About Time 

624 AH (1227/8 CE) astrolabe (Inv. 37148) by Abd al-Karim al-Misri

What is your favourite object from the new exhibition About Time? 

This 624 AH (1227/8 CE) astrolabe (Inv. 37148) by Abd al-Karim al-Misri is a favourite of mine. Inlaid with gold and silver and engraved with images of the zodiac constellations and lunar mansions, it is a true masterpiece of art and astronomical science from the Islamic world. Astrolabes are fascinating instruments that map the apparent movement of the sun and stars across the sky. 

Originally made for Abu-l-Fatih Musa, the nephew of the famous Ayyubid ruler Saladin, this astrolabe’s history of ownership is one of the many intriguing things about it. We can trace it to a sultan, who had his name engraved on a replacement part in 827 AH (1423/4 CE), and – hundreds of years later – to a French countess, who displayed it at the World’s Fair in Paris in 1900 CE. Over its long history, this instrument has fascinated countless people and it provides a window into many moments in history – including the founding of the History of Science Museum in 1924 CE.

What story does the exhibition tell? 

About Time explores the fascinating, intertwined histories of collector Lewis Evans, and the ingenious ways people of the past have found to tell the time by sun, moon and stars. A businessman and scholar, Evans became fascinated by sundials, astrolabes, celestial globes and astronomical compendia. His passion for understanding these instruments led him to amas a remarkable collection, which he generously donated to the History of Science Museum in 1924. 

Each instrument reveals a world of histories: from the scholars and philosophers of the medieval Mediterranean world, to the intellectual and economic networks of Renaissance Europe, to the courts of Safavid Persia and the fin-de-siècle European art market. Through our touchscreen display, visitors can explore these rich histories and go on one journey – or many – to discover how these instruments worked and the worlds they can reveal. 

About Time. One Passion. A World of Histories opened at the History of Science Museum in time to celebrate the History of Science Museum’s 100th birthday on Monday 4 March 2024 and is free to visit. 

Museum of Natural History

Interview with Ella McKelvey, Web and Communications Officer 

Striped House Snake and Rhombic Night Adder

What is the most surprising object from the exhibition Fair Water?

The most unusual objects from the exhibition are the Striped House Snake and Rhombic Night Adder. Forecasting rain is vital to water management – but not everyone relies on computer simulations to predict when the next rainfall will be. In West Kenya, sightings of snakes like the Striped House Snake and Rhombic Night Adder are thought to be linked to the onset of rains. This is just one method of traditional forecasting used in the country. In the Pokot and Turkana counties of North Kenya, pastoralists read goat or sheep entrails to forecast the weather. 

What do we mean by a Fair Water future?

Controlling water is a life or death matter. Globally, one in four people don't have access to clean drinking water, and 1.2 billion people face daily risks from water-related hazards like floods, droughts and storms. Striving for a Fair Water future means finding social and political solutions to improve people's access to water. Communities need to have a say in the management of their own water and, equally, human water use should not harm local ecosystems. 

The global research community has the tools to improve water access for communities across the world. The Fair Water? exhibition is a collaboration between the Museum of Natural History and REACH – a global research programme based at the University. The exhibition showcases some of REACH's most valuable research findings, and the work they are doing in consultation with decisionmakers on a local, national and international level to improve water security for 10 million people in Africa and Asia. 

Fair Water? is free to visit and open until 1 September 2024 at the Museum of Natural History. 

Pitt Rivers Museum

Interview with Louise Hancock, Marketing & Media Officer 

Tell us about the case display of insect paintings in the Pitt Rivers Museum. 

Painting by Hawaiian artist Solomon Enos

Tucked away at the back of the first floor is a dark wooden display case lit up with fantastic figures, Hawaiian objects from the collections and specially commissioned paintings by the Hawaiian artist, Solomon Enos. In contrast to the sometimes quite sombre colours in other displays, this case glows with pinks, mauves and yellows. The pictures show insect/arachnid ‘people’, all holding or wearing items inspired by objects in the collections, some of which are also displayed in the case. This case is a forerunner for a much bigger exhibition about Hawaii opening in June. 

What stories do these paintings tell? 

The insect characters are all taken from the epic Hawaiian myth Hi’iakaikapoliopele, in which the heroine Hi’iaka is on a quest that takes her through a hidden underworld. The figures she encounters tell stories of living, working, playing and learning within a sustainable landscape. Solomon Enos is just one of the artists who feature in our forthcoming HAWAI’I Ma aka to Ma kai: Quilting the Hawaiian Landscape exhibition, which will fill the museum with specially commissioned works and performances by Hawaiian quilters, fashion designers, poets, hula dancers and more. It’s going to be an exciting summer! 

Moʻolelo of the Ahupuaʻa: A Re-imagined Journey into a Hawaiian Ecosystem is currently on display and free to visit at the Pitt Rivers Museum. The new HAWAI’I Ma aka to Ma kai: Quilting the Hawaiian Landscape exhibition opens 12 June 2024.

Botanic Garden & Arboretum

Interview with Ella Bedrock, Communications and Social Media Officer 

What can we look forward to blooming over May and June at the Botanic Garden and Arboretum? 

As summer takes over from spring at the Botanic Garden, the Herbaceous Border takes centre stage. First established in 1946, it is a classic example of a traditional English herbaceous border, filled with native flowers loved by bees and butterflies. Don’t miss the Victoria cruziana in our Water Lily House – its leaves can grow to 2m wide! Alongside it, discover Nymphaea x daubenyana. This hybrid water lily was first propagated at the Botanic Garden in 1874. It was named in honour of Professor Daubeny, Keeper of the Garden from 1834 to 1867. 

At the Arboretum, the bluebells die down in May and June and the Wildflower Meadow will start to fill with vetch, yellow-rattle and sorrel. Look out for special gems such as pyramidal orchids (Anacamptis pyramidalis) and the distinctive ragged robin (Lychnis flos-coculi). 

Victoria Cruziana

What is your favourite specimen in the collection?

In mid-to-late June, look for the Dracunculus Vulgaris. It only blooms for a day or two, releasing a foul smell to attract pollinating flies after which it dies back dramatically. 

University staff members and students have access to Oxford Botanic Garden and Arboretum for free with their university cards. There are a number of tours, talks and workshops taking place at the Garden and Arboretum over the summer. 

Dracunculus Vulgaris