Princess Mary Tin
This 1914 Princess Mary Tin is part of our War and Weaponry Collection,
It was Princess Mary's express wish that 'every sailor afloat and every soldier at the front' should have the present. The gifts were devised in October 1914 and intended for distribution to all who were serving overseas or at sea, in time for Christmas 1914.
It was intended to contain one ounce of pipe tobacco, twenty cigarettes, a pipe, a tinder lighter, Christmas card and photograph. However, quite early on, the committee in charge received strong representations that an alternative gift should be made available for non-smokers. It was then agreed that non-smokers should receive a packet of acid tablets, a writing case containing pencil, paper and envelopes together with the Christmas card and photograph of the Princess.
Athenian Tetradrachm
This Athenian Tetradrachm coin is part of our Trade and Economy Collection.
The tetradrachm is an ancient Greek silver coin equivalent to four drachmae. It was in wide circulation from around 510 to around 38 BC.
The Athenian tetradrachm was stamped with the head of the goddess Athena on the obverse. The reverse was stamped with the image of the owl of Athena, the symbol of the Athenian polis, with a sprig of olive and a crescent for the moon. It was known as glaux (γλαύξ, little owl) throughout the ancient world. This gave rise to the proverb 'an owl to Athens', referring to something that was in plentiful supply, like 'coals to Newcastle'. The reverse is featured on the national side of the modern Greek euro coin.
The drachma was the currency unit used in Ancient Greece over several centuries. Some economists have estimated that in the 5th century BC a drachma had a rough value of 37 pounds (as of 2015). Historians say that in the heyday of ancient Greece (the fifth and fourth centuries BC) the daily wage for a skilled worker or a soldier was one drachma.
This tells us that a tetradrachm was worth about four times a skilled worker’s daily wage, and could buy luxuries such as jewelry and horses.
Roman Oil Lamp
We have this beautifully preserved, complete Roman oil lamp in our Design and Technology collection. It appears to have been recovered from a shipwreck and dates between the first and third centuries AD.
Roman lamps were very simple devices, consisting of an oil chamber and a projecting nozzle. Olive oil, the fuel most often used, was introduced through a filling-hole in the top of the chamber and a wick, normally of linen, was inserted into a wick- hole pierced in the nozzle.
Replica Corinthian Helmet
This type of helmet is known as a 'Corinthian helmet' by archaeologists because the goddess Athena is shown wearing it on Corinthian coins from its period of use (7th - 3rd Century BC). This style of helmet was also frequently featured on the decorative vases.
This replica helmet was created based on an original Italo Corinthian style helmet that can be seen in the Pitt Rivers museum in Oxford (more detail here). The original has a large hole in the temple, presumably the result of battle. This helmet was created especially for the Museum and Iris Classics Centre at Cheney by Matt Lukes at Fabrica Romanorum. At some of our events, members of the public are able to try this helmet on!
Ethiopian Christian Art
The story of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, a traditional subject of Ethiopian art, appears in this rendition by Janbaru Wandemu, painted in the 1950s. Recorded in the Kebra Nagast ( Glory of Kings), a literary work preserved in manuscripts from the late thirteenth or early fourteenth century C.E., the story may have existed as early as the sixth century C.E. It tells of the descent of the the Ethiopian monarchs from Solomon and Makeda (the Ethiopian name for the Queen of Sheba) and of the bringing of the Ark of the Covenant to Ethiopia.
The 44 panels, laid out according to a traditional format, progress along the horizontal rows from upper left to lower right. The story begins (panel 1) with Wainaba, the snake dragon at upper right, ruling Ethiopia. The people agree to make Angabo king if he kills this monster (2). Angabo mixes a poison (3), feeds it to his goat (4) and feeds his goat to Wainaba (6). This kills Wainaba (7), and Angabo becomes king (8–9). When Angabo dies (10), his daughter Makeda becomes queen (11).
It was donated to the Living Museum by Professor Judith McKenzie from the University of Oxford.
Year 12 Museum Curators Trip to the Ashmolean
On Wednesday 16th November,Year 12 Classical Civilisation students visited the Ashmolean Museum for a special afternoon workshop and tour put on by the Ashmolean Museum as part of our Museum School program.
When the group arrived, they spent fifteen minutes exploring the sorts of roles and jobs in museums - ranging from archaeologists and curators to events managers and artefact cleaners with outreach officer Clare Corey. They were then able to spend some time in the Aegean World gallery. The students have been studying the fascinating civilisations of the Minoans and Mycenaeans, and were excited to be able to see the many artefacts they had been learning about in lessons.
Our Planet Season
We are delighted to announce that from January to June 2019 the Rumble Museum is running an Our Planet Season.
This season is a celebration of the amazing diversity of life on earth, and explores natural history and biofacts, latest scientific discoveries, as well as the rich human history of our planet. The season includes a wide range of exciting events, exhibitions, talks, workshops, film viewings and other activities. It includes our major annual festival, themed this year on Natural History in particular, on 27th March, as well as a Global Awareness Festival, a Stargazing event, a bird exhibition, and a number of pop-up events throughout the next few months.
There will also be a range of competitions and projects, including our Dragonfly Trail project and our Weird Fishes project.
This season is an especially exciting season as we also celebrate submitting our final application for full Arts Council Museum Accreditation. Our Planet Season will be able to showcase the many exciting exhibitions and artefacts in our collections in a variety of new ways. You can keep up-to-date with our latest announcements, projects, events and other items on the Our Planet Season blog.
We look forward to seeing you at an Our Planet event soon!
Model Dragonflies at Cheney: Natural History and Art Trail
The Rumble Museum has created an exciting new piece of public art in the form of a model Dragonfly Trail around Cheney School’s site and for local primary schools in a project where pupils created their own designs for the dragonflies.
Eight large (five foot long and five foot wing span) dragonfly models were installed on the Cheney School site in March 2019. These dragonfly models each had their theme designed by Cheney Art students to represent different areas of learning. They are striking, colourful and educational works of art which we hope will inspire the very diverse community of East Oxford and beyond.
The trail was unveiled for the public at the Iris Festival of Natural History & More at Cheney School on 27th March, 2019.
We gave six miniature dragonflies for local primary schools to theme and bring for the day of the festival to be included in the trail on the day. East Oxford Primary, Bayards Hill, St Mary & St John, St Andrew’s, St Ebbe’s and Windmill all decorated a model. You can explore their designs on a special Dragonfly Trail website.
Artefact Story Trails
One of the most exciting new projects we are developing together with the classics centre this year involves the design and creation of a number of murals which will explore possible biographies for some of the many Roman artefacts we have on display at the centre.
Most of the items we have are pieces of much larger objects, and the idea behind these mural trails is to show the story of how some of these items would have been made and used, and eventually broken, and discovered centuries later as fragments. Each trail will consist of three murals which trace these stories; the artefact itself will then appear in small cabinet at the end of the mural trail. The trails will eventually appear all across the school campus, as well as in feeder schools.
Iris Festival of Natural History, Classics, Art and More, 27 March 2019
We are delighted to announce the Iris Festival of Natural History, Classics, Art and More on 27th March, 2019.
This event will be a large community event to celebrate the Rumble Museum at Cheney School as it continues the process of becoming the first Arts Council Accredited museum in a state school.
There will be five main discovery zones: Natural History, Art, Classics and Archaeology, Storytelling and Anthropology. Each zone will contain activities, stalls, exhibitions, workshops, and a wide range of visiting museums with artefacts to handle and explore. There will be live shows including animatronic dinosaurs, as well as the opportunity to see birds of prey! There will also be fossils pits, printing at a vintage printing press, the Story Museum's Little Shop of Stories, an ancient Greek daily life museum, Roman music and mosaics, artists' exhibitions, as well as a cafe serving refreshments and hot and cold drinks.
In each zone, there is a wide range of visiting museums bringing artefacts to handle and explore, as well as a range of organisations running exciting activities ranging from floating magnets to ball pits!
The event will include expert talks as well as a wide range of stalls, activities and exhibitions. Visitors will be able to follow an exciting new model Dragonfly Trail as they explore the site, with each discovery zone containing striking decorations, workshops, stalls, performances and activities themed on different aspects of museum learning.
A brochure is available to download here.
The stalls, activities and exhibitions run from 3.30 until 6pm. It is free and caters for all ages. Primary and secondary school groups are warmly welcome.
The following talks will also take place throughout the afternoon and evening:
3.30 - 4pm - Professor Richard Fortey, Natural Historian and Palaeontologist
4.15 - 4.45pm - Professor Helen King, 'Ancient Greek Magic and Medicine'
5.15 - 5.45pm - Peter Randall-Page, Artist and Sculptor, Royal Academician
6 - 6.30pm - Will Gompertz, BBC Chief Arts Correspondent
followed by drinks
The festival itself does not require booking unless you are visiting with a school group. Talks do need to be booked, and can be done so by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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