Museum Secrets

Latest Episodes:

Requiem for a Pug Jan 05, 2021

Show notes

Alison Pollard, Lecturer at Oxford University, takes us to meet a very special marble table in the Ashmolean’s Arundel Collection, which was repurposed as a tombstone for a beloved pug dog.
Doug the Pug – View Alison’s photograph of Doug
Table top – View it here
Table legs – View it here
Henrietta Louisa Fermor – View a portrait / Read about her
If you want to take a closer look at the sculptures in this episode, you can view them at the links above, or visit the podcast page on the Ashmolean website: ashmolean.org/museum-secrets
Producer: Lucie Dawkins
Presenters: Lucie Dawkins and Alison Pollard
About Museum Secrets: The curators at the University of Oxford's Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology have been recording bite-sized tales of the wonderful, and sometimes unexpected, life of a museum. We can’t wait to share them with you! Join us every weekday for 3 weeks, from 28 December onwards, for a daily dose of cheer.

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The Camel Who Escaped the Nazis Jan 04, 2021

Show notes

Podcast host Lucie Dawkins takes us to meet a Tang Dynasty Camel, who came to Oxford in the suitcase of a Jewish refugee Paul Jacobsthal.
Tang Dynasty Camel – View it here
If you want to take a closer look at the camel discussed in this episode, you can view it at the link above, or visit the podcast page on the Ashmolean website: ashmolean.org/museum-secrets
Producer and Presenter: Lucie Dawkins
About Museum Secrets: The curators at the University of Oxford's Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology have been recording bite-sized tales of the wonderful, and sometimes unexpected, life of a museum. We can’t wait to share them with you! Join us every weekday for 3 weeks, from 28 December onwards, for a daily dose of cheer.

Support the show

Forms and Music Jan 01, 2021

Show notes

Lena Fritsch, the Ashmolean Museum’s Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, shares a story about the colourful prints of Peter Hedegaard. In them, she found a hidden connection with her own father, and a secret story about love and friendship that crosses borders.
To see these prints for your yourself, please visit the podcast page on the Ashmolean website: ashmolean.org/museum-secrets
Producer: Lucie Dawkins
Presenters: Lucie Dawkins and Lena Fritsch
About Museum Secrets: The curators at the University of Oxford's Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology have been recording bite-sized tales of the wonderful, and sometimes unexpected, life of a museum. We can’t wait to share them with you! Join us every weekday for 3 weeks, from 28 December onwards, for a daily dose of cheer.

Support the show

A Light at the End of the Tunnel Dec 31, 2020

Show notes

Shailendra Bhandare shares some very special coins with one of the first images of Buddha as a future saviour. He reflects on the way that humans have always been eager to imagine saviour figures, to help us find hope in dark times. Shailendra is Curator of South Asian and Far Eastern Coins at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.
If you want to take a closer look at the coins discussed in this episode, please visit the podcast page on the Ashmolean website: ashmolean.org/museum-secrets
Producer: Lucie Dawkins
Presenters: Lucie Dawkins and Shailendra Bhandare
About Museum Secrets: The curators at the University of Oxford's Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology have been recording bite-sized tales of the wonderful, and sometimes unexpected, life of a museum. We can’t wait to share them with you! Join us every weekday for 3 weeks, from 28 December onwards, for a daily dose of cheer.

Support the show

The Ancient Art of Manscaping Dec 30, 2020

Show notes

In this episode, host Lucie Dawkins reveals the Ancient Greek art of styling pubic hair, and why it gives us important clues to understanding ancient sculptures.
1. Cast of the Terme Boxer – View this online
2. Cast of Apollo – View this online
3. Painted cast of Augustus – View this online
4. The Metropolitan Museum kouros – Find out more
5. Cast of the Kritios Boy – View this online
If you want to take a closer look at the sculptures in this episode, you can find them at the links above, or visit the podcast page on the Ashmolean website: ashmolean.org/museum-secrets
Producer and Presenter: Lucie Dawkins
About Museum Secrets: The curators at the University of Oxford's Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology have been recording bite-sized tales of the wonderful, and sometimes unexpected, life of a museum. We can’t wait to share them with you! Join us every weekday for 3 weeks, from 28 December onwards, for a daily dose of cheer.

Support the show

Indecent Sculptures for Decent Museums Dec 29, 2020

Show notes

Jim Harris joins host Lucie Dawkins to talk about detachable genitalia in the Cast Gallery at the Ashmolean Museum, and the history of prudishness in ancient art. Jim Harris is the Andrew W Mellon Teaching Curator at the Ashmolean.
Cast of the Laocoön group – View this online
If you want to take a closer look at the Laocoön cast Jim discusses in this episode, you can view it at the link above, or visit the podcast page on the Ashmolean website: ashmolean.org/museum-secrets
Producer: Lucie Dawkins
Presenters: Lucie Dawkins and Jim Harris
About Museum Secrets: The curators at the University of Oxford's Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology have been recording bite-sized tales of the wonderful, and sometimes unexpected, life of a museum. We can’t wait to share them with you! Join us every weekday for 3 weeks, from 28 December onwards, for a daily dose of cheer.

Support the show

On Time and Asparagus Dec 28, 2020

Show notes

The Director of the University of Oxford's Ashmolean Museum, Xa Sturgis, takes a walk around the museum's Still Life Gallery, pondering over time and asparagus.
Still Life of Fruit and Flowers, Clara Peeters – View the painting
Still Life of Asparagus, Adriaen S. Coorte – View the painting
If you want to take a closer look at the paintings he discusses in this episode, you can view them at the links above, or visit the podcast page on the Ashmolean website: ashmolean.org/museum-secrets
Producer: Lucie Dawkins
Presenters: Lucie Dawkins and Xa Sturgis
About Museum Secrets: The curators at the University of Oxford's Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology have been recording bite-sized tales of the wonderful, and sometimes unexpected, life of a museum. We can’t wait to share them with you! Join us every weekday for 3 weeks, from 28 December onwards, for a daily dose of cheer.

Support the show

TRAILER: Museum Secrets – Series 1 Dec 18, 2020

Show notes

The curators at the University of Oxford's Ashmolean Museum have been recording bite-sized tales of the wonderful, and sometimes unexpected, life of a museum, and we can’t wait to share them with you! Join us every weekday for 3 weeks, from 28 December 2020 , for a daily dose of cheer.
Museum Secrets is produced and presented by Lucie Dawkins.

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