SECOND FLOOR

WEST MEETS EAST ORIENTATION GALLERY

The second floor Orientation Gallery gives you an insight into the changing world brought about by European exploration in the late 15th century and how contacts with the Americas and Asia transformed the lives of Europeans.

VIEW GALLERY

JAPAN FROM 1850

This gallery covers the arts of Japan in the Meiji era (1868 to 1912) when the country was opened up to the West...

This gallery covers the arts of Japan in the Meiji era (1868 to 1912) when the country was opened up to the West after 250 years of self-imposed isolation and attempted to industrialise...

This gallery covers the arts of Japan in the Meiji era (1868 to 1912) when the country was opened up to the West after 250 years of self-imposed isolation and attempted to industrialise and to compete with the Western...

This gallery covers the arts of Japan in the Meiji era (1868 to 1912) when the country was opened up to the West after 250 years of self-imposed isolation and attempted to industrialise and to compete with the Western nations.

JAPAN 1600-1850

Japan from 1600 to 1850 covers the Edo period when the country experienced 250 years of peace and prosperity.

CHINA FROM AD 800

The cult of collecting and connoisseurship in China is shown in the displays to your right as you enter the gallery...

The cult of collecting and connoisseurship in China is shown in the displays to your right as you enter the gallery from the Japanese galleries.

MUSIC AND TAPESTRY

This gallery contains many instruments given to the Ashmolean in the 1930s and 1940s by the distinguished London...

This gallery contains many instruments given to the Ashmolean in the 1930s and 1940s by the distinguished London firm of violin makers, Messrs W E Hill and Sons.

EUROPEAN CERAMICS

The ceramics on display in this gallery cover 500 years of production ranging from the distinctive 17th century...

The ceramics on display in this gallery cover 500 years of production ranging from the distinctive 17th century Staffordshire slipware by Thomas Toft to the Japanese inspired stoneware...

The ceramics on display in this gallery cover 500 years of production ranging from the distinctive 17th century Staffordshire slipware by Thomas Toft to the Japanese inspired stoneware of 20th-century ceramicist...

The ceramics on display in this gallery cover 500 years of production ranging from the distinctive 17th century Staffordshire slipware by Thomas Toft to the Japanese inspired stoneware of 20th-century ceramicist Bernard Leach.

ENGLAND 400-1600

This gallery displays items from the Ashmolean’s English archaeological collection – one of the finest in the...

This gallery displays items from the Ashmolean’s English archaeological collection – one of the finest in the world.

EARLY ITALIAN ART

This gallery shows some of the Ashmolean’s impressive collection of early Italian Art.

ITALIAN RENAISSANCE

This gallery concentrates on the work of artists in Italy where Florence, Venice and Rome were key centres of artistic...

This gallery concentrates on the work of artists in Italy where Florence, Venice and Rome were key centres of artistic production and innovation.

EUROPEAN ART

This spacious gallery evokes the richness of an historic art collection in an Italian palace or an English country...

This spacious gallery evokes the richness of an historic art collection in an Italian palace or an English country house where marble and bronze sculpture, fine furniture, Old Master...

This spacious gallery evokes the richness of an historic art collection in an Italian palace or an English country house where marble and bronze sculpture, fine furniture, Old Master paintings and imposing portraits...

This spacious gallery evokes the richness of an historic art collection in an Italian palace or an English country house where marble and bronze sculpture, fine furniture, Old Master paintings and imposing portraits were displayed in opulent rooms

DUTCH AND FLEMISH ART

This small gallery highlights how political stability and economic prosperity in the newly formed Dutch Republic...

This small gallery highlights how political stability and economic prosperity in the newly formed Dutch Republic led to a flowering of the arts and demand for luxury goods by Protestant...

This small gallery highlights how political stability and economic prosperity in the newly formed Dutch Republic led to a flowering of the arts and demand for luxury goods by Protestant merchants and civic offi...

This small gallery highlights how political stability and economic prosperity in the newly formed Dutch Republic led to a flowering of the arts and demand for luxury goods by Protestant merchants and civic officials.

BAROQUE ART

This gallery showcases works from the Baroque style which developed in Italy from about 1600.

GERMAN AND FLEMISH ART

This gallery traces the influence of the Italian Renaissance on German, Flemish and Spanish artists

STILL-LIFE PAINTINGS

An extensive collection of over ninety still-life paintings by 17th century Dutch and Flemish artists and presents...

An extensive collection of over ninety still-life paintings by 17th century Dutch and Flemish artists and presents an outstanding representation of this genre.

BRITAIN AND ITALY

This gallery takes as its theme the passion that 18th-century British collectors had for the antique and the response...

This gallery takes as its theme the passion that 18th-century British collectors had for the antique and the response of British artists to Italian art and its classical heritage.

LANDSCAPE OIL SKETCHES

The practice of painting landscapes in the open air became widespread in the 1750s, when French students in Rome...

The practice of painting landscapes in the open air became widespread in the 1750s, when French students in Rome were encouraged to paint small studies in oil on paper as part of their...

The practice of painting landscapes in the open air became widespread in the 1750s, when French students in Rome were encouraged to paint small studies in oil on paper as part of their training.

ARTS OF THE 18TH CENTURY

This gallery displays works from the time of William and Mary’s accession to the British throne in 1689 to Napoleon’s...

This gallery displays works from the time of William and Mary’s accession to the British throne in 1689 to Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo in 1815.

SILVER GALLERY

Numbering over 550 objects, many of which are of spectacular quality and rarity, the Ashmolean’s silver collection...

Numbering over 550 objects, many of which are of spectacular quality and rarity, the Ashmolean’s silver collection is one of the most important and finest collections of its kind...

Numbering over 550 objects, many of which are of spectacular quality and rarity, the Ashmolean’s silver collection is one of the most important and finest collections of its kind in the world with many superb...

Numbering over 550 objects, many of which are of spectacular quality and rarity, the Ashmolean’s silver collection is one of the most important and finest collections of its kind in the world with many superb items on loan from Oxford colleges.

ARTS OF THE RENAISSANCE

Most of the items displayed here are from the collection of the Victorian scholar-collector C D E Fortnum (1820...

Most of the items displayed here are from the collection of the Victorian scholar-collector C D E Fortnum (1820 to 1899) the ‘second founder’ of the Museum.