4,000 years in 22 objects from the Ashmolean Museum
By Rebecca Abrams
A spectacular overview of the collection of Jewish objects in the Ashmolean Museum, spanning over 4,000 years and 14 countries.
"The Jewish Journey takes twenty-two of the great riches of the Ashmolean Museum... and with the guidance of Rebecca Abrams, the model of a learned story-teller, provides a route through time and its objects to moments of illumination" – Simon Schama
A Dead Sea scroll jar from 1st-century Judaea; a clay camel from Tang Dynasty China; a medieval magic amulet; beautiful viols from Italy; an English five pound note forged in a Nazi concentration camp; a painting within a painting.
These are some of the remarkable Jewish objects in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, brought together for the first time to tell the history of the Jewish people from Ancient Mesopotamia to the present day.
Spanning 4,000 years and 14 countries, they document the astonishing diversity and adaptability of Jewish life over the centuries, and the long history of close interaction with other cultures and religions of the world.
Author Rebecca Abrams reveals the fascinating stories behind these little-known treasures, and the people who owned, made and used them, from kings, courtiers and scholars, to merchants, musicians and market-stall holders.
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