National Treasures
'The Wilton Diptych'
At the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
10 May - 1 September 2024
Ashmolean Museum
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.
Find out about more National Treasures venues.
The Wilton Diptych
The Ashmolean displayed The Wilton Diptych in its England: 400–1600 Gallery on the 2nd Floor alongside the museum’s Cloth of Gold, the funeral pall of Henry VII, placing the work in a historical context not possible at the National Gallery.
A short film introduced the diptych, its history, how it got to London highlighting that it was the first time it left the National Gallery since it was acquired.
An audio guide (produced with Smartify) explored the diptych’s iconography in more depth and how it related to the artefacts around it. The trail introduced related objects in the England gallery including the Cloth of Gold, a 14th-century gold and enamel triptych (said to have been owned by Mary Queen of Scots) and an Adoration of the Magi with a similar composition to ‘The Wilton Diptych’.
The Family Festival of Art and the Festival of Archaeology both during summer, included activities inspired by 'The Wilton Diptych', plus performances and a photo booth with costumes bringing the painting to life.
This is a YouTube video player. Below the video are the title, view time and description. Below that is a carousel of video thumbnails. Clicking a thumbnail will load and play that video.
