A silver coin that features the nativity scene in the centre of it.
✨ Happy Christmas to everyone celebrating! ✨
For the final day of our #AshmoleanAdvent calendar we're sharing this silver coin which features a nativity scene.
The coin was produced in Rome under the named pope Gregory XIII in the late 16th-century.
A Victorian coat made from Kashmir shawl pieces. It is Red and blue with touches of yellow and has fringing around the neck, base and sleeves
#AshmoleanAdvent Day 24: Winter Coat
Woven from the fleece of a Himalayan mountain goat, Kashmir shawls were famous for their lightness, softness and warmth.
A Greek wine jug, with a winged figure of Nike flying towards a tripod.
#AshmoleanAdvent Day 23: Winged Nike
For today’s Ashmolean Advent treat we have a winged Nike, holding a ribbon in her hand, flying across a wine jug towards a tripod, a symbol of victory.
🪽Attic red-figure pottery jug, 450–430 BCE, by The Calliope Painter. AN1896-1908.G.280
A silver gilt pomander, on the left it is open to reveal it's sections, on the right it shows it closed
#AshmoleanAdvent Day 22: Pomander
These tiny decorative baubles are actually pomanders, designed to carry perfume, but the resemblance to the classic Christmas decoration is uncanny.
A pomander would have contained perfumes such as ambergris, musk or civit, and would have been worn or carried.
Detail of a Japanese colour woodblock print depicting a snow covered village, in the foreground is bridge with people crossing over.
#AshmoleanAdvent Day 21: Snowy Bridge
Today’s advent calendar treat is a woodblock print titled Yuhi Hill and Drum Bridge at Meguro by Japanese master printmaker Utagawa Hiroshige.
The unusual arched bridge in this wintry landscape was known as a ‘drum bridge’ because of its shape.
A painted portion of a wooden bookcase with detailed paintings of 6 singing Pierides
#AshmoleanAdvent Day 20 brings Singing Pierides painted by Henry Stacy Marks on The Great Bookcase by William Burges.
Enormous, elaborate and highly decorated, the Great Bookcase was made to hold art books in the London office of William Burges (1827–1881).
A black and white wood engraving of a rocky mountainous landscape against a starry sky
#AshmoleanAdvent Calendar Day 19 – Starry Sky
British artist Eric Ravilious trained as a wood engraver and mural painter at the Royal College of Art. This wood engraving, showing mountains, stars and gems, is an illustration for a collection of epigrams and epitaphs by Martin Armstrong.
⭐ WA.OA979
A terracotta figurine of three male heads with conical shaped hats sit on top of a plain base.
Day 18 of #AshmoleanAdvent - Three Wise Men
This curious terracotta figurine from Cyprus, with the heads of three bearded men mounted on a box-shaped body, reminded us of the Three Wise Men of the Nativity story.
👑👑👑 750–480 BCE, Cyprus, Ceramic. AN1968.1524
An intricately embroidered cushion cover with plants, birds and figures in golds, blues, reds, yellows and many other colours
#AshmoleanAdvent Day 17: Embroidered cushion cover
Today’s Advent treat is this brightly-coloured cushion cover or wall hanging, bustling with dense embroidery.
In the intricate scene of intertwined flowers, figures and creatures, you can spot stags and various birds.
An elegant and detailed drawing of mistletoe in pen and brown ink over graphite on cream paper.
#AshmoleanAdvent Day 16: Study of Mistletoe
This elegant mistletoe drawing, is a perfect illustration of May Morris’s delicate botanical studies.
Drawing directly from nature, Morris was a leading embroiderer and designer of the late 19th-century Arts & Crafts movement in Britain.
Ancient bronze figurine in the shape of a stag, it is facing towards the viewer and is missing it's front legs
#AshmoleanAdvent Day 15: Bronze Stag
The ancient city of Kish, to the east of the city of Babylon, was revered as the place where the gods had established kingship. In the late 1st millennium BCE, Babylonian kings refurbished the city’s ancient temples and the city flourished.
An ancient gold coin, in the centre is Nike, the Greek goddess of victory.
#AshmoleanAdvent Day 14: Winged Nike
On the reverse of this gold coin of Alexander the Great, from 330–320 BCE, stands Nike, the Greek goddess of victory. In her outstretched right hand she holds a wreath, and in her left hand she holds a ship's standard, likely symbolising a naval victory.
A small wooden netsuke in the shape of a chestnut which is rich brown in colour.
#AshmoleanAdvent Day 13: Chestnut Netsuke
Until the 19th century Japanese citizens wore a kimono, fastened by an obi (sash). Small personal items such as purses, pipes or medicine containers were hung from the sash by silk cords.
If you haven't come across the Ashmolean's Advent Calendar yet, do go check it out (on their feed, or - I assume - on their website). It is always full of lovely delights, like this absolutely beautiful angel by Raphael
#AshmoleanAdvent
#AshmoleanAdvent Day 12: Raphael’s Angel
This beautifully sketched angel was Raphael’s preparatory drawing for a detail in the mosaic decoration at the Chigi Chapel in the church of S. Maria del Popolo, Rome.
🪽 Study for an angel, c. 1515–16, by Raphael (1483–1520). WA1846.208
A carved wooden figure of the Virgin Mary dressed in yellow and blue robes with her hands met in prayer. This image shows her facing forwards.
A carved wooden figure of the Virgin Mary dressed in yellow and blue robes with her hands met in prayer. This image shows her facing left.
#AshmoleanAdvent Day 11: The Virgin Mary
This figure of the Virgin Mary was possibly carved in the Netherlands during the first half of the sixteenth century.
When seen from the front, the figure kneels on a red cushion with tasselled ends, her hands held together in prayer.
A colour woodblock print of a view on to a snowy scene from inside the Kiyomizudera Temple.
#AshmoleanAdvent Day 10: Evening Snow at Kiyomizudera
This woodblock print shows a view from inside the Kiyomizudera Temple in Kyoto on a snowy evening by Kawase Hasui.
Snow falls steadily, forming drifts on the wooden balcony. Through the pillars, two figures can be seen looking out.
A star-shaped fritware tile, around the border of the star is blue with writing in white. In the centre there are two seated figures.
#AshmoleanAdvent Day 9: Star Tile
This star-shaped fritware tile was made in Iran in the 13th century. On the tile are two seated figures, dressed in richly patterned tunics and enjoying a drink together.
⭐ Star-shaped tile. 20 x 18.5 x 1.3cm. EA1978.1560
A Japanese painting of a black bear cub in the snow
#AshmoleanAdvent Day 8: Black Bear Cub
Painted by Japanese artist Mori Shūhō, this small bear looks directly out at the viewer while it sits uneasily on a ledge amid the snowflakes. Shūhō was a member of the Mori School of artists who specialised in lifelike depictions of animals.
🐻 EA1964.95.F
Painted wooden Victorian trenchers, highly decorated in gold, red, green, blue and many more colours
#AshmoleanAdvent Day 7: Decorated Elizabethan Trenchers
These decorated wooden trenchers, made around 1600, would have been used as dining plates at banquets on special occasions. Placed face down on a table they would have held sugared fruits, marzipan or other sugary delicacies.
今年も #AshmoleanAdvent がｲｲﾈｰ
A 15th-century oil painting of the Icon of St Nicholas. With the figure of St Nicholas in the centre wearing robes and two icons in the corners of John the Baptist and the Virgin Mary
#AshmoleanAdvent Day 6: St Nicholas
Today marks St Nicholas Day.
St. Nicholas of Myra was a 4th-century Christian bishop known for his kindness and generosity.
In this icon dating back to the 15th century, St Nicholas is shown as the Miracle Worker.
Five Egyptian gold hoop-shaped earrings with animal-heads.
#AshmoleanAdvent Day 5 – Five Gold Rings
These hooped earrings are richly decorated with wire, beads, and animal-heads (bull, wild goat, and ram).
These earrings were from one of two exceptional hoards discovered in 1905 at Tukh el-Qaramus.
🟡 Late 4th – early 3rd century BCE, AN1926.99–104
A silver Roman coin with an eight-pointed star featured in the centre
#AshmoleanAdvent Day 4: Roman Star Coin
Prominent on the reverse of this rare silver coin from the Kingdom of Pontus, located in the Black Sea region of modern Turkey, is a large eight-pointed star.
A Roman brooch in the form of a stag looking backwards. In the centre of the body are aged pieces of coloured enamel.
#AshmoleanAdvent Day 2: A Bronze Stag 🦌
This Roman bronze brooch in the shape of a stag would have been used to fasten a shawl or cloak.
This brooch was once decorated with bright multi-coloured enamel which was very popular in Britain and France during the Roman period.
🦌 AN1927.418
A Japanese woodblock print of a Japanese village in snow. The village is by a river and has a lot of trees and some traditional buildings.
#AshmoleanAdvent Day 1: Snow at Kinryūzan Temple
Our Ashmolean Advent Calendar is here! Check back each day until Christmas for a new seasonal treat from our collections.
The first festive treat from the collection is Utagawa Kuniyoshi’s View of Snow on Benten Hill at Kinryūzan Temple in Asakusa.
A detail from a black and white illustration showing a family gathering around a candlelit Christmas display.
A detail from a black and white illustration showing a family gathering around a candlelit Christmas display.
A detail from a black and white illustration showing a family gathering around a candlelit Christmas display.
Open today’s #AshmoleanAdvent calendar door on our website to read more: www.ashmolean.org/advent
🎄 Christmas, 1799 by Daniel Niklaus Chodowiecki (1726–1801), Germany. Etching. WA1863.11374
A black and white illustration showing a family gathering around a candlelit Christmas display.
Happy Christmas to everyone celebrating!
For the final day of our #AshmoleanAdvent calendar, we're sharing this illustration showing a family celebrating Christmas by German graphic artist Daniel Niklaus Chodowiecki.
Gold spherical clock with highly decorative engravings.
For day 24 of #AshmoleanAdvent we're sharing a watch made between 1530 and 1550. It is made of delicately engraved gilt-brass.
Open today’s door to read more: www.ashmolean.org/advent
⏰ Spherical cased clock-watch, c. 1530–1550, Germany. Gilt-brass, 4.6cm. WA1947.191.1
Carved wooden figure of the Virgin Mary in gold robes kneeling on a red cushion.
This figure of the Virgin Mary is likely to be a fragment from an Adoration group which formed part of a larger altarpiece.
Open our #AshmoleanAdvent Calendar Door 23 to read more: www.ashmolean.org/advent
🙏 Carved wooden figure of the Virgin Mary, 1500–1500, Netherlands. AN1836.p146.494
