Previous Exhibitions & Events
John Bradford, Pioneer of Landscape Archaeology
2 October 2009 – 31 January 2010
This archive case display spotlights the groundbreaking use of aerialphotography
in landscape archaeology by former Pitt Rivers Museum archaeologist John Bradford
(1918–1975). Bradford’s aerial images of Etruscan cemeteries, Italian neolithic
sites and Roman centuriation, as well as sites in the UK, all formed the basis
of his celebrated book, Ancient Landscapes (1957). The display also highlights
how Bradford’s aerial reconnaissance work with the RAF in World War II led directly
to innovations in this area of archaeological discovery.
16 January 14.30, 15.00 and 15.30
Behind the Conservation Curtain:
A rare opportunity to be guided through the Pitt Rivers’ new conservation studio.
Your chance to explore objects through the eyes of our experienced ethnographic
conservators. Suitable for adults and accompanied children over 12yrs.
30 minute sessions, numbers limited: please book on 01865 270927 
Gérard
Mermoz: Objects in Performance
12 June 2009 - 11 January 2010
This installation responds to the way the ethnographic collections are organized
at the Pitt Rivers Museum. It reinterprets the ‘Cabinet of Curiosities’ in a
contemporary vein, exchanging the scientific taxonomy of museum displays for
a theatrical staging of the objects, offering us an alternative basis for their
interpretation and appreciation.
19 December 14.30
The Art of Recycling
Gallery talk: An exploration of the inventive processes and
purposes behind
this universal activity,focusing on the recycled objects
from all continents now on display in the Lower Gallery. Julia Nicholson (Joint
Head of Collections)
6 December 14.00-16.00
Meet the Maker
A rare chance to watch Hideta Kitazawa demonstrating the making of Noh masks
used in classical & contemporary Japanese Noh theatre.
27
November 18.00–21.00
Community Christmas
We are starting the festive season with a free evening programme of live world
and local music along with storytelling, family activities, shopping, and
some surprises. Refreshments available. 
Come along and join us. In conjunction
with Christmas Light Night, Christmas in Oxford. Read more about the programme
of events (pdf).
17 October 14.30
African Collections
Gallery Talk: Learn about African arms and armour and the
histories and meanings of the African objects on display. Helen Adams (Special
Projects Officer) and Jeremy Coote (Joint Head of Collections). In association
with Black History Month.
Across
the Caucasus (case display)
1 May – 30 September 2009
After visiting Russia for seven months in 1879, John F. Baddeley (1854–1940) became the St. Petersburg correspondent for the (London) Standard (now Evening Standard) and began a life-long relationship with the Caucasus region, travelling widely and writing important books on its history, including Russia, Mongolia, China (1919). This exhibition will show a selection of his photographs, notebooks and exquisite published work.
19 September 14.30
Witches ladders and pierced hearts: Hidden objects from English
houses in the Pitt Rivers Museum Gallery Talk: As part of
the recently completed 'Other Within' research project, a series of objects
that were found hidden in English houses have been examined. Chris Wingfield
(Researcher)
A Haida Happening
Sunday 13th September 13.00 – 16.00
Visitors to the Museum can have a taste of the vibrant cultural life of Haida
Gwaii, Canada, during A Haida Happening. This is a special opportunity to meet
visiting researchers and artists from the Haida First Nation, where the totem
pole comes from, as they dance, sing and give gallery talks and demonstrations.
In association with Oxford Open Doors 2009
15 August, 14.30
Aboriginal Art: Journeys through Land and Time
Gallery Talk: an introduction to the Museum’s new displays
of Australian Aboriginal art. The talk will consider the stories behind
the pieces: from artists to collectors, mythologies to landscapes, colonial
histories to contemporary movements. Helen Adams (Special Projects Officer)
18 July, 14.30
The 'other' city - investigating the Archaeology of East Oxford
Gallery Talk: Overshadowed in official histories of Oxford by the City Centre
and university buildings, East Oxford presents amazing opportunities for fresh
archaeological investigation in areas such as St Clements, Cowley Road, Rose
Hill, Littlemore and Blackbird Leys. David Griffiths (Reader in Archaeology)
and Jane Harrison (Project Worker)
Sunday June 28th
Javanese traditional performance by 'KEMANAK' Performances at 14.00,
15.15 and 16.00.
KEMANAK take their name from a thirteenth century Javanese musical instrument
still used as accompaniment to sacred dance and also used in their performances.
They are a trio of performers who have been in training since childhood with
leading masters in Javanese traditional dance, including masked dance, music
and wayang kulit (shadow puppet play). This will be the first time they have
all come to Europe, to explore performance in other cultures.
20 June, 14.30
Hands-On - Introduction to Textiles
An opportunity to handle different kinds of cloth and find out what they are
made from and how they are decorated. Susan Griffiths (Community Education Officer)
16 May, 14.30
Carolyn Drake: Photographs of Central Asia
Gallery Talk: Chris Morton, Curator of Photographs in
conversation with Carolyn Drake, Istanbul-based documentary photographer,
about the exhibition of her work now on in the Museum depicting life in
Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Programme of Free Special Events 1 - 4 May 2009
Friday 1 May
SHOWING OFF – A NEW VIEW of the Pitt Rivers Museum
A new view of the Pitt Rivers Museum.
How much has changed? Only one way to find out – come and join in our re-opening
celebrations – a weekend full of free fun and fascination.
The project team will give a short presentation on the challenges encountered
in removing and then replacing over 5000 precious objects in time for the
re-opening. 11.00, 14.00 and 16.00.
Studio Cameroon - the everyday photography of Jacques Touselle
9 November 2007 - 29 June 2008
When
electricity reached the Cameroon town of Mbouda in 1970, Jacques Touselle
opened its first photographic studio - 'Studio Photo Jacques' - which prospered
into the mid 1980s. In addition to the required identity card portraiture,
sitters would come for portraits to celebrate feasts, funerals and holidays.
As Jacques himself says, 'everybody wanted a reminder of these things'. His
studio was stocked with a jacket, suit, hat and even a small wig for women.
For studio props, Jacques offered sitters an iron gate, an artificial flower,
a Christmas tree, and even occasionally his own motorcycle. This show is
the first in a planned series of contemporary photography exhibitions within
the new extension to the Museum.
The Persian Photographs of Antoin Sevruguin
7 April – 29 June 2008
Antoin Sevruguin (late 1830s–1933) was one of the most important professional
photographers working in Persia in the late nineteenth and early twentieth
centuries. This exhibition, in the Museum’s special display case for original
photographic material, highlights a selection of fifteen prints purchased
in Tehran in the 1920s by William and Daisy Fairley, and recently donated
to the Museum.
'Trace' by Les Biggs.
20 October 2007 - 29 June 2008
Trace is a an artist's personal response to the collections and archives at
the University of Oxford's Pitt Rivers Museum. Supported by the Arts Council
of England. Read more about the installation.
Treasured textiles- cloth and clothing around the world
20 May 2006 - 8 June 2008
An exhibition of textiles and costumes which celebrates the vibrancy of pattern
created through weaving, printing, dying and stitching techniques. A highlight
of the show will be Indian women’s clothing made in Mexico and Guatemala in
the 1930s. Gloriously decorative in colour and design, the patterning was
developed through hand weaving with additional ornament in brocading, appliqué
or embroidery. Read more about this exhibition
Behind the Façade
Until 24 February 2008
An expression of life behind the scenes in Oxford University’s Museums created
by artists brook and black, along with local community groups. Read more about Behind
the Façade.
Wednesday 9 January
The evolution of the firearm : General Pitt Rivers Collection
in the Museum
Colin Langton - Friend.
Special events
The Dalai Lama visits the Pitt Rivers Museum, 30 May 2008 
On Friday 30th May His Holiness the Dalai Lama visited the Pitt Rivers Museum to officially launch an innovative website called The Tibet Album: British Photography in Central Tibet 1920 –1950. A private ceremony was attended by some 150 guests, including those who were closely involved in creating the website and descendants of the original photographers who had donated their photograph collections to the Museum. Read more about the visit.
In a Different Light 2008 - A magical night of light and sound
Saturday 17 May, 18.00 - 23.00
This
evening extravaganza, the fourth in the series, will offer the same successful
combination of music and dance amongst the dinosaurs of the Museum of Natural
History, involving the diverse cultural communities of Oxford and beyond,
along with mask-making activities, bug handling, early animated movies and
the memorable experience of the Pitt Rivers Museum by torchlight (Access to
the torch-lit area of the Pitt Rivers Museum will be limited by tickets available
on the night). Most suitable for 12 years and above. FREE admission.
Extraordinary Journeys: women collectors of the Pitt Rivers
Museum
Wednesday 12 March, 11.00
An insight into women travellers and their experiences. An informal talk and
gallery visit, lasting approx. 1 hour. All welcome. Free but booking essential
on 01865 613004.
Winter Warmer
Friday 7 December 2007, 19.00-23.00
As part of the city wide White Night festival come and enjoy seasonal activities
for young and old, explore the displays by torchlight and indulge in a warming
drink before you leave. This is a joint event with the Oxford University Museum
of Natural History.
Celebration Weekend
24 & 25 November 2007
A weekend of activities to mark the formal opening of the Museum’s new extension.
Activities include:
Wannabe
Warriors - Saturday, 13.00-16.00. An afternoon of activities looking
at weapons, armour and hunting. Suitable for accompanied children aged
5 and over.
Contemporary Curiosity - Sunday, 13.00-16.00. Activities
for adults and older children, including trails, talks and behind the scenes
tours. Download a programme of events.
THE KITTY LAKE COLLECTION 1904-2001 - An exhibition by Sally Hampson
19 May – 7 October 2007
This romantic exhibition of journals, photographs, and artefacts conjures
up the life and travels of explorer and anthropologist Kitty Lake: the utopian
Rishmoo Islands in 1927, by camel through Egypt’s Western desert and the mountains
of Sinai in 1929 and on to the West coast of Ireland in 1931 in search of
those most elusive creatures, fairies.
OPENING DOORS OPENING MINDS
Saturday 23 June 2007
The Pitt Rivers Museum will be taking part in Opening Doors Opening Minds
on Saturday the 23rd June as part of Oxfordshire 2007 city wide events.
From 10.30am you will be able to go on a tour (approx. 1hr15min), following the path of a new object when it is donated to the Museum. It will also include a chance to see the behind the scenes in the new extension. Suitable for adults and accompanied children aged 8 and over.
Booking is essential on 01865 270927 or prm@prm.ox.ac.uk
In a Different Light 2007
Saturday 19 May, 20.00 - 23.00
Experience the Pitt Rivers Museum and Oxford University Museum of Natural
History in association with the Bate Collection, at this magical late night
event. This year will be bigger and better than ever, with entertainments
including masked dances by monks from the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery in Tibet,
performances by gamelan and kora musicians, rare film and animation screenings,
including the 1933 film Son of Kong, and a new mix of hands-on activities
inspired by the collections. This event is aimed at young people and adults,
although families will be welcome. Light refreshments will be available. This
is a free event although donations will be welcomed. So come along, have fun,
join in and bring your friends and family.
AERIAL WISH
21 May - 8 January 2007
An installation by artist Naoko Miyazaki. This site-specific work in the Museum’s
galleries, consists of three staircases, too small and light for humans but
not for our imagination. While reminiscent of architectural elements, they
are fragile, free and fantastical. Read more about the installation.
WILFRED THESIGER'S IRAQ, 1949 - 1958: Photographs of Travel
Finishes 17 April 2006
This selection represents over 4,500 photographs taken in Iraq, some recording
the everyday life of people of the Marshes, others the spectacular landscapes
in the north of the country. Further Information about
the Thesiger's Iraq exhibition.
IN A DIFFERENT LIGHT 2006
7 – 11pm Saturday 20 May
In partnership with the Bate Collection, we invite you to another magical
late-night opening with Javanese music and the lights down low.
Entertainments include a shadow puppet performance, mask and puppet making, Gertie the Dinosaur (1914) one of the earliest animated feature films, fluorescent bugs and minerals. A chance to see the Tyrannosaurus Rex in a very different light.
Also the opening of the new exhibition
TREASURED TEXTILES: Cloth and Clothing around the World.
12.15 – 1.15pm Saturday 20 May
Open lunchtime session on the gamelan
An opportunity to join in playing the gongs and metallophones of the gamelan
orchestra in a free public taster session.
VICTORIAN WELCOME
12.00 – 4.30pm Sunday 30 April
The Museums celebrate their Victorian heritage with a range of games and activities
linked to the collections. Come and meet famous Victorian fossil hunter Mary
Anning, watch the film The Lost World of Mitchell and Kenyon, showing early
footage of Victorian life, and have a go at creating your own sepia photograph,
or take a guided tour with Pitt Rivers Friends. We invite you to come dressed
as a Victorian and win a prize. Read more.
Saturday 28 May and Sunday 29 May 2005
Objects of Desire 1.00 – 4.00 pm
Take a tour around the Pitt Rivers Museum displays with a Museum Friend who will introduce you to some of the less well known, but more desirable objects on show. Inspire other visitors by recording your own favourite object on our feedback board. Free.
These events are in association with Museums and Galleries Month, 'Lights in the Night' European Night of Museums, The Oxford Gamelan Society, The Bate Collection, Friends of the Pitt Rivers Museum
Saturday 14th May
The Pitt Rivers Museum and Oxford University Museum of Natural History In
a Different Light……..
Twilight Opening 7.00 – 10.00pm
An intimate, after-hours encounter with the collections, accompanied by Javanese music and dance and the lights turned down low. Also fluorescent bugs, glow in the dark minerals, shadow puppets, film show, refreshments and more. Programme of events for the evening.
SEEING LHASA: British Depictions of the Tibetan Capital 1936-1947
7 September 2003 - 30 November 2004
Rare photographs and albums, early film and previously unseen paintings reveal British perceptions of Tibet prior to the Cultural Revolution. more about the Seeing Lhasa exhibition
ART INSTALLATION - SLIGHT SHIFTS
29 May 2004 - 1 August 2004
The Pitt Rivers Museum as you have never thought about it before. Colour and
light - two apparently neutral elements - infiltrate the well-known Victorian
interior, re-introducing viewers to the collections and influencing the
way they experience the displays. An art installation by Malaysian-based
artist Wong Hoy Cheong, the first Oxford Brookes/Pitt Rivers Museum Visiting
Fellow in Fine Art.
NEW PHOTOGRAPH COLLECTIONS CASE DISPLAY
PHOTO-ICONS: RELIGIOUS IMAGES FROM ROMANIA
27 September - 16 January 2005
A display of field photographs and photographically produced religious objects
from post-communist Romania, collected by Gabriel Hanganu, postgraduate
student in visual anthropology at the University of Oxford.
BODY ARTS
This new sequence of displays focuses on the variety of ways people choose to alter their bodies: tattooing, piercing, hair-dressing, head-binding etc. More than 1000 objects are included, maintaining the much-loved tradition of dense, artefact rich displays, in keeping with the Museum's celebrated Victorian atmosphere. Recently acquired items, such as the tools used by a local Oxford tattoo artist, are displayed beside more traditional tools collected at the turn of the twentieth century, including tattooing equipment from Burma (Myanmar), Sarawak, Tamil Nadu and Nagaland. more
PROGRAMME OF EVENTS
Amazing Female Explorers
14 March 2006 - 10.00 – 11.00 a.m.
A tour of discovery looking at the exciting exploits of women explorers and the objects they collected. Did Mary Kingsley really tickle hippos with her umbrella and beat of alligators with a canoe paddle during her African travels in the 1890s? This is part of the Women’s Festival programme.
Admission free, booking essential tel: 01865 270927. Wheelchair access can be arranged.
The Story Lab
Sat. 12 Nov., Sat. 19 Nov. 2005, Sat. 26, 1pm - 4pm
Stories, activities and objects in the University Museum of Natural History and the Pitt Rivers Museum.
Evolving City is a year-long programme showcasing the incredibly vibrant creative life all around us. Find out more at www.evolvingcity.org.
BBC series "How Art Made the World"
The Museum is offering two trails around our displays to accompany the BBC series "How Art Made the World". You can download the trails here, by clicking on their respective title below, or pick up a copy in the Museum.
Our "Human Form" trail ties in with the first programme in the series, "More Human than Human". This programme explores the exaggerated and unrealistic images of the body that humans often produce. Whilst the programme looks at European objects, this trail extends the theme by considering objects from Africa, Asia, and Oceania.
Our "Storytelling" trail accompanies the fourth programme in the series, "Once Upon a Time", which explores how images and pictures are used to tell stories. This trail picks up on this theme by looking at objects from north America, England, and Africa.
(To view pdf files you need Acrobat Reader)
The series website is http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/tvradio/programmes/howart
NEWS
OXFORD UNIVERSITY'S IT IN TEACHING AND LEARNING AWARD 2008
The Other Within: Analysing the English Collections at the Pitt Rivers Museum project has won the OxTALENT 2008 award for innovative use of IT in teaching and learning at Oxford University.The Pitt Rivers Museum is known for having many thousands of objects on display from all corners of the globe. However, it does have a surprisingly large collections of artefacts, photographs and manuscripts from England. This website aims to give information about the English collections at the Museum.
OXFORD UNIVERSITY'S IT IN TEACHING AND LEARNING AWARD 2007
The Tibet Album research project has won the OXTALENT 2007 award for innovative use of IT in teaching and learning at Oxford University. The website presents more than 6000 photographs spanning 30 years of Tibet's history. These extraordinary photographs are a unique record of people long gone and places changed beyond all recognition. They also document the ways that British visitors encountered Tibet and Tibetans. Go to the Tibet Album site.
NEW EXTENSION FOR THE PITT RIVERS MUSEUM
We are pleased to announce that building work is now almost complete.
The Museum’s permanent displays on the ground floor Court remain open. The Lower Gallery (including Body Arts, jewellery, pottery, Benin and the Forster collection of Pacific artefacts) has reopened on May 1st 2007. The Upper Gallery (armour and weaponry) will remain closed to the public while staff are working on a new display of the firearms collection there.
For up to date information on any changes to public services please contact
the Museum or visit the web site. Read more about the new extension.
THE PITT RIVERS MUSEUM'S ANNUAL REPORT 2005/06
(To view pdf files you need Acrobat Reader)
2005 GUARDIAN NEWSPAPER Family Friendly Museum Award
The Pitt Rivers Museum and Oxford University Museum of Natural History together have won the 2005 Guardian Family Friendly Museum Award.
For the first time the short-listed entries were judged entirely by children.
The Museum's Director, Michael O'Hanlon, said: "'The award recognizes
the dedication of all the staff and volunteers involved with both Museums,
and especially our wonderful front of house and education teams. We are absolutely
delighted'.
More information on the campaign and the award is available online at www.guardian.co.uk/kidsinmuseums
Pitt Rivers lecturer-curator elected Fellow of the British Academy
Professor Chris Gosden, lecturer-curator in world archaeology at the Pitt Rivers Museum, has just been elected a Fellow of the British Academy. Professor Gosden's recent books include:
Archaeology and Colonialism: Cultural Contact from 5000 BC to the Present (Topics in Contemporary Archaeology), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (2004); Prehistory: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions, 96), Oxford: Oxford University Press (2003); Archaeology and Anthropology: a changing relationship, London: Routledge (1999).
More information about the Court Project
2002-2004
More information about the previous Designation Challange Fund computerization
project
More information about the museums collections, including those in the Court
THE PITT RIVERS MUSEUM'S ANNUAL REPORT 2006/07
THE PITT RIVERS MUSEUM'S ANNUAL REPORT 2005/06
THE PITT RIVERS MUSEUM'S ANNUAL REPORT 2004/05
THE PITT RIVERS MUSEUM'S ANNUAL REPORT 2003/4
THE PITT RIVERS MUSEUM'S ANNUAL REPORT 2002/3
(To view these pdf files you need Acrobat Reader)
Virtual Tour : See
Inside the Pitt Rivers Museum
requires Quicktime
player
These interactive web pages allow virtual visitors to explore and manipulate 360 degree photographic panoramas of the Museum interior. They are constructed from hundreds of high quality images and will be updated regularly. In the future they will allow web browsers to link to further information about the Museum’s diverse displays. See more virtual tours of Oxford by visiting www.seeoxford.com
