The Ashmolean Museum was named after its founder Elias Ashmole (1617–1692) and opened in 1683. It is widely recognised as being the first modern museum.
Elias Ashmole was a royalist, lawyer, antiquarian, scholar, and collector who gave his collections to the University of Oxford in 1677.
In our Ashmolean Story gallery you can discover more about Elias Ashmole and his new museum. You can also find out about his collections, which included the Tradescant family’s ‘Rarities’.
These two innovative galleries deal with the historical and contemporary aspects of conservation and are one of the few public spaces devoted to museum conservation anywhere in the world.
This gallery shows how reading and writing have developed globally in different cultures over thousands of years. The examples in the museum’s collection give a voice to people in the past and show different ways in which they have recorded facts, ideas and stories.
The Ashmolean has more than 300,000 coins and currency in its extensive collection. In the Money Gallery you can see a small fraction of these displayed to convey how money can give us an insight into the history of past cultures throughout the world.
Our shop is inspired by our collections; browse beautiful jewellery, homeware, scarves and bags – perfect for distinctive, cultural gifts – or simply pick up a postcard to remember your visit.
