Around the World in 80 Pots

Religion. Humour. Trade. Sex. Folklore. Creativity. Pots can tell us more about the lives of the people who made and used them than any other artefacts.

Bearing the imprint of their maker, ceramics give us a direct physical link to the past, often the only evidence of longforgotten civilizations that have otherwise crumbled to dust, and a unique passport to other cultures.

From the most rough-hewn clay bowl that tells us how bread was baked over 5,000 years ago in Iraq, to ethereally beautiful porcelain used for religious rituals, and from a lewd Renaissance novelty dish to a sleek contemporary vessel inspired by traditional African techniques, Around the World in 80 Pots is an eclectic journey across time and place, and a rare insight into humankind's oldest craft.

The Ashmolean is the University of Oxford's museum of art and archaeology, founded in 1683. Their world-famous collections range from Egyptian mummies to contemporary art, telling human stories across cultures and across time. Receiving over 1 million visitors a year from around the world, the Ashmolean is one of Oxford's most popular attractions.

A journey through history and across cultures with the Ashmolean Museum's unrivalled ceramics collection. It contains works from the Middle East, Asia, Europe, UK and Africa that span over 5,000 years. Pottery tells us about religion, daily life, humour, trade, sex, folklore and creativity. Bearing the imprint of their maker more than any other crafted object, ceramics give us a unique physical link to the past, often the only evidence of long-forgotten civilizations that have otherwise crumbled to dust. From ancient Egyptian canopic death jars to ethereally beautiful porcelain, and from lewd Renaissance novelties to sleek contemporary vessels, Around the World in 80 Pots is an eclectic journey across time and cultures. Expertly selected from the unrivalled collection of the University of Oxford's Ashmolean Museum, this compendium shows that humankind's oldest craft is the perfect prism through which to view human history.

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