The world's oldest university museum
The Ashmolean Museum opened its doors on 24 May 1683, making it the oldest university museum in the world. Its founding collection is, however, half a century older than the building: it comes from the cabinet of curiosities the gardener and naturalist John Tradescant the Elder began assembling in the 1620s, which his son, John Tradescant the Younger, then opened to a paying public at their house in Lambeth, nicknamed "the Ark."
1. An ark of curiosities left to a stranger
In 1677, John Tradescant the Younger bequeathed his entire collection to Elias Ashmole, an antiquary, astrologer and collector he had known for several years. Ashmole in turn donated the whole collection to the University of Oxford, on the express condition that a building be constructed to house it — the foundation stone of the future museum was laid as early as 1679, before the bequest was even fully settled, and the collection's crates traveled up the Thames by barge from Lambeth to reach Oxford.
The portraits of John Tradescant the Elder and John Tradescant the Younger, hung in this room, show the two men behind this collection of curiosities that nothing, at the time, destined to become a university museum.
2. An astrologer, an alchemist, and the museum's name
The portrait of Elias Ashmole himself, painted by John Riley around 1681-1682, hangs not far from that of John Dee, astrologer and mathematician at the court of Elizabeth I, and of William Lilly, a noted seventeenth-century astrologer — two figures who reflect Ashmole's own interest in alchemy and astrology, disciplines then taught alongside the natural sciences. Ashmole himself practiced astrology and assembled one of the largest English libraries on the subject.
The museum's first keeper, Robert Plot, whose portrait also hangs in this room, was himself a naturalist and chemist — a sign that the museum was born at the crossing point of emerging scientific curiosity and bodies of knowledge now classed as pseudoscience, with no sharp line drawn between the two at the time.
How much time
A short room but dense with names: take the time to work out who is who before moving on to the next rooms.
- The Tradescant family portraits — 8 minutes.
- Elias Ashmole, John Dee and William Lilly — 8 minutes.
Sources and verification
Checked against the official notices of the Ashmolean Museum (ashmolean.org) and cross-checked with Wikipedia EN/FR.
- Ashmolean Museum — History of the Ashmolean
- Ashmolean Museum — The Ashmolean Story Gallery
- Ashmolean Museum — About: History & Future
- Britannica — John Tradescant
Displays and room openings can change. Check the Ashmolean Museum website on the day of your visit before following a route.
Listen to the commentary in the gallery
This route gives you a thread to follow. In front of an artwork, CulturAll adds the audio commentary: photograph the work or its label, listen, then ask your questions.
