New Display Strategy

New ways of seeing our past

How best can beautiful objects be displayed, to enhance our understanding and enjoyment of them? How can modern architecture and design help put our past into a fresh perspective, for the greatest number of people? What, in short, should a modern museum be like?

Planning the Ashmolean’s transformation was an opportunity to address these fundamental questions to create a Museum which is one of the world’s most significant and innovative cultural showcases.

The Ashmolean’s collections span the civilisations of east and west, charting the aspirations of mankind from the Neolithic era to the present day. Among many riches, we have the world’s greatest collection of Raphael drawings, the most important collection of Egyptian pre-Dynastic material outside Cairo, the finest Anglo Saxon treasures beyond the British Museum and the foremost collection of modern Chinese art in the Western world.

Our innovative new display strategy has transformed the way these rare and beautiful objects are experienced and understood by visitors. The approach is based on the idea that civilisations that have shaped our modern societies developed as part of an interrelated world culture, rather than in isolation. Every object has a story to tell, and these are uncovered through comparisons and connections, tracing the journey of ideas and influences through the centuries and across continents.