Spellbinding stories, fascinating objects...
from crystal balls and magic mirrors to witch bottles and curse poppets
The intriguing objects displayed showed how our ancestors used magical thinking to cope with the unpredictable world around them. They ranged from the fantastical and macabre (a unicorn’s horn, a human heart encased in lead), the beautiful and mysterious (exquisitely engraved rings to bind a lover and medieval books of ritual magic), to the deeply moving confessions of women accused of witchcraft.
The exhibition asked us to examine our own beliefs and rituals, and aimed to show how, even in this sceptical age, we still use magical thinking and why we might need a bit of magic in our lives.
To illuminate the links between past and present, specially commissioned works by contemporary artists provided dramatic responses to the themes of the show, conjuring demons, flames and the scuttling of malignant spirits.
The Spellbound Magic Circle: Philip & Jude Pullman; Dasha Shenkman OBE, HonRCM; and others who wish to remain anonymous
The Patrons of the Ashmolean
The research on this subject under the title “Inner Lives: Emotions, Identity and the Supernatural, 1300 -1900” was generously funded by the Leverhulme Trust. Click here to find out more about the research.
Exhibition Curators
Lead Curators:
Dr Sophie Page, University College London
Professor Marina Wallace, Director, Artakt Associate
Curators:
Owen Davies, Professor of Social History, University of Hertfordshire
Malcolm Gaskill, Professor of Early Modern History, University of East Anglia
Ceri Houlbrook MA PhD, University of Hertfordshire
We thank the artists who have worked with the curatorial team on developing new installations: Ackroyd & Harvey
Annie Cattrell Katharine Dowson
Exhibition design by Stanton Williams in collaboration with the Ashmolean
CATALOGUE
An illustrated exhibition catalogue is available to buy at the Museum and online.
