On a recent dreary Thursday afternoon I took myself to the
Ashmolean for a Tea-Time Tour entitled “Caskets and Cofers.” On my last visit to Oxford in 2011, I had done a
number of these free museum tours; they were always very focused and led by a
museum employee who had in-depth knowledge of his/her subject . I always enjoyed them.
I arrived early because you have to stand in line
for a ticket. Once I was left out of a
tour because I showed up too late. This time I wanted to be early. The tour was scheduled from 3:45 to 4:30, but
when I arrived at the Ashmolean it was only going on 3. Wandering around the basement area, trying to
decide if I wanted to spend a few minutes with a Diet Coke, I saw a sign
announcing a harpsichord concert at 3. So, I scurried off to find it!
I arrived at the concert space in plenty of
time. The old harpsichord was set up in
front of a small audience. It was a
little after three when the event finally began. The harpsichordist, a middle-aged thin man
with longish grey hair and a tweedy jacket, was planning to play a few pieces,
but I had decided I would only stay to hear the first: a Scarlatti Sonata. I got excited at first because I thought it
might be something I would recognize from my past (twelve years of taking lessons
from Lakeview’s most famous piano teacher: Vernile Winn – always loved that
name). Wrong; I don’t think I’d ever
heard this one. The piece I had wanted
to hear was actually one of my old favorites: Clementi’s Sonatina in C Major. Click here to hear that one: Clementi Sonatina -- on a piano, not a harpsichord.
Anyway, after the first piece I left and headed for
the tour waiting area in the Greek and Roman Sculpture Gallery. I got there about 3:20 and no one was sitting
on any of the benches. Eventually an
elderly (i.e., older than me!) sat down at the end of my bench. I asked him if he were waiting for the tour,
but he said, “No.” Then just before 3:45,
the tour guide arrived. We chatted for a
moment, and she said of course she would do the tour for just one person. Yay!
As my guide explained, she had picked out some
interesting boxes that are featured in various Ashmolean collections. We started out with a coffin from
Knossos. It was a very interesting
container, with some slight decoration on it – not long enough for a body to be
laid down inside (the guide said they merely bent the body over).
We next looked at a large pot with an octopus
painted on it – this octopus only had six tentacles.
It was very fanciful. There are a
lot of maritime symbols on the pottery from Knossos.
At this point another person joined our tour – so I
wouldn’t be getting the guide’s undivided attention. No biggie.
The other person must have been an art student; she asked lots of good
questions and made interesting comments. I was glad she joined us!
I won’t talk about each piece we saw, but I will
give you a link to the Ashmolean’s pages for three of my favorites: an Indian mother-of-pearl box, an Indian leather
and mixed media box and a French (Limoges) reliquary casket for St. Thomas Becket. Just click below on the blue text for a picture and more info on each item.
This box dates from the early 17th Century. Each sliver of pearl is attached with a little silver peg.
Shagreen is leather that was made by laying little pebbles on top of a piece of damp leather -- then walking on them. When the leather dries, the pebbles are shaken off, and they leave tiny little pock marks on the underside of the leather.
Made in Limoges around 1200AD. The blue is enamel -- made by in-laying powered colored glass and melting it. This cofer may have contained a bone of St. Thomas Becket or an article that he had worn or something that had come in contact with him.
