Christopher Brown, director of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, has revealed plans for a future development that will see the courtyard on the west side of the building filled in to create an extra 800 sq m of exhibition space across three levels.
It is anticipated that the new exhibition space will be used to display the museum’s collection of Dutch art as well as international contemporary works. Brown said he is now in talks with potential funders willing to support the venture.
Brown outlined the plans at the launch of six new galleries displaying the Ashmolean's collections of Ancient Egypt and Nubia.
The Ashmolean reopened in October 2009 after a £61m rebuild designed by the architect Rick Mather. It had 1.2 million visitors in its first year, making it the most visited museum outside of London.
The new galleries of Ancient Egypt and Nubia on the ground floor, which open to the public on 26 November, mark the second phase of the museum’s revamp. The £5m project sees the redisplay of the Egyptian galleries and the extension into the restored Ruskin Gallery, which was previously occupied by the museum shop.
About 2,000 objects from the museum’s collection of Ancient Egypt and Nubia will be displayed in the six galleries, including a mummy that has been in storage for 80 years.
Liam McNamara, assistant keeper of Egypt and Sudan at the Ashmolean, said the museum addressed concerns about the display of human remains by installing climate-controlled display cases, as ancient Egyptians believed that bodies must be preserved in order to ensure the afterlife.
The new galleries had to be built around the Shrine of Taharqa, originally built at Kawa in Sudan, the only free-standing pharaonic building in Britain, which was too heavy to move.
Brown said: “This project completes the ancient world floor at the Ashmolean. [The new galleries] document 5,000 years of human occupation of the Nile Valley and display the most important collection in this area outside of Cairo.”
It is anticipated that the new exhibition space will be used to display the museum’s collection of Dutch art as well as international contemporary works. Brown said he is now in talks with potential funders willing to support the venture.
Brown outlined the plans at the launch of six new galleries displaying the Ashmolean's collections of Ancient Egypt and Nubia.
The Ashmolean reopened in October 2009 after a £61m rebuild designed by the architect Rick Mather. It had 1.2 million visitors in its first year, making it the most visited museum outside of London.
The new galleries of Ancient Egypt and Nubia on the ground floor, which open to the public on 26 November, mark the second phase of the museum’s revamp. The £5m project sees the redisplay of the Egyptian galleries and the extension into the restored Ruskin Gallery, which was previously occupied by the museum shop.
About 2,000 objects from the museum’s collection of Ancient Egypt and Nubia will be displayed in the six galleries, including a mummy that has been in storage for 80 years.
Liam McNamara, assistant keeper of Egypt and Sudan at the Ashmolean, said the museum addressed concerns about the display of human remains by installing climate-controlled display cases, as ancient Egyptians believed that bodies must be preserved in order to ensure the afterlife.
The new galleries had to be built around the Shrine of Taharqa, originally built at Kawa in Sudan, the only free-standing pharaonic building in Britain, which was too heavy to move.
Brown said: “This project completes the ancient world floor at the Ashmolean. [The new galleries] document 5,000 years of human occupation of the Nile Valley and display the most important collection in this area outside of Cairo.”