[
25 August 1710]
[Uffenbach's morning was spent in the Library]
At last, in the afternoon, we inspected the Ashmolean
Museum, and this time only the museum itself and the
natural history specimens to be found there. They are
in the biggest and most important room or hall in the
than from inside. Below is a spacious place of honour
or vestibule, and, on the left, the library of Thos. WoodAnthony Wood.
Down in the vestibule stands the great iron cradle of
which Benthem makes mention. On the walls of the
staircase hang many pictures but they are nothing very
special. Arrived at the top of the stairs, one sees another
door which leads into the little room in which is the
Bibliotheca M Sta Ashmoleana. But this time, as stated,
we only saw the museum. This is in the hall at the top of
the stairs to the left. For England the natural history
specimens to be found here are in fair order. But on our
first entrance we wondered not a little that there should
be such talk made over this museum outside this island,
and more particularly of course within it. For to take
one instance, Herr Bürgermeister Reimers in Lüneburg.
who is only a private person, has certainly as many
specimens again as one meets with here and far more
important ones.
We noticed various very large goats' horns, one of which was four span in circumference. For this realm is
everywhere very prolific in horn, and moreover all
horned creatures are extraordinarily well furnished with
them.
We also saw two of the white caudae setosae vaccarum, such as Borricchius, and we too, had observed in
the Schola Anatomica.
Then we noticed different Cornua
Ammonis, such a size as I have never seen before.
Farther on was the head of a ram with four horns for, as
I remarked above, England is a terra maxime cornifera, and the cows have terrific horns, as large indeed as our
oxen.
There is also a very beautiful stuffed reindeer. It
has antlers like an elk, but otherwise resembles a stag in
size and form, with hair nearly the length of one's little
finger and almost as stiff as horse-hair, picked out or
sprinkled with grey-white or black and white.
Here, also, is a stuffed Indian ass, white with dark brown stripes or rings, such as I had already seen in Berlin.
Likewise we saw an extraordinarily big tortoise,
as also the skin of a Turkish goat: it is very large, yellowish-white, with very long, soft and rather crinkled hair, inches in length
and as soft as silk.
In the windows stood about thirty
glass vessels with all kinds of Indian botanical specimens, plants and flowers in spirit. As inscribed on them in
gold lettering, they are ex dono Cl. Viri D. Jacobi
Pound, M.B. (Med. Baccalaurei).
We further noticed a very large dens molaris over a finger in length and two inches thick. The accompanying memorandum:
"This is supposed to be one of the teeth of the Danish Giant Warwick found by M. Brown near Pontfreat Castle an. 1700," is a prodigious supposition. Credat Judaeus Apella, non ego. —
Also, a very long and wide skin of a
serpens candisorius, white with brown spots, about
twelve feet long and one and a half wide.
In several of the glasses, in brandy, were sundry strange creatures,
likewise presented by the above mentioned Pound, such
as a few snakes and amongst them a small rattle-snake.
Also a crocodile, a salamander, etc.
In one corner stood a cabinet in which were many beautiful lapides pretiosi,
such as I have seldom seen in such profusion and in the
centre were several fine lapides florentini; an uncommonly
good glosso-petra, about seven inches long
and two wide at the back, a lovely light green stone,
almost like Jasper and various beautiful crystals also,
amongst them two pieces with moss imbedded in them.
A splendid topaz, bigger than a walnut. An amethyst, as large again as the above, but faulty.
In the cabinet were
also some drawers which contained about thirty specimens
of old and new, but bad, coins.
Furthermore the Knight St. George and the Dragon, well cut in amber.
Likewise the Crucifixion of Christ, very delicately carved on a peach stone with the signature N. B.
Again the birth of Christ in just the same style,
as also a representation of the Saviour.
Further cherry-stones carved in
the same way.
Also Apollo fairly well cut in coral;
a calendarium runicum on eleven little wooden tablets
(the remaining one having been lost), each a finger
in length and not quite two fingers in breadth.
An abacus indicus which consists of a little wooden box
in which are some round bullets that can be moved with
a wire.
Earrings of dyed straw, the size of a nut and
shaped hke pearls such as women are said to have
worn in Spain in by-gone years.
Also several artistic objects of turned ivory.
Several beautiful rosaria in crystal and other materials.
Various curious specimens
of all sorts of succinum (amber), amongst them some with flies and one specially beautiful with a spider.
Two gold chains, one of which was presented to Ashmole by Friedrich Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg,
the other by the King of Denmark, together with the
coins suspended from them.
We were then shown a very curious stone; for when
it was struck in two, a piece of money was found in the
centre, which had grown into the stone, or rather the
stone had grown around it.
Also a very large Indian
writing tablet with leaves of black paper and a cover
beautifully lacquered in red.
An extraordinarily
curious horn which had grown on the back of a woman's
head. It was exactly like a horn, except that it was
thinner and browner in colour. It is certainly somewhat
of a curiosity, and it appears that men-folk bear their
horns in front and women theirs behind. It was noted on
a label that it originated from a Mary Davis of Sanghall in Cheshire an. aet. 71 an Dn. 1668. No doubt it will
have been mentioned in the Transactiones Angl., or in
the Histor. nat. of Cheshire, and can be looked up there.
The horn was blackish in colour, not very thick or
hard, but well proportioned.
At a window was a very large cochlea bivalvis, but
only one half of it was there.
Further a cabinet with five drawers full of great shells.
Another cabinet with smaller shells,
none of which were perfect, or which one could
not see better in Holland.
Near this cabinet stood an
enormous cabbage-stalk from five to six feet in height
and over an arm in thickness.
By the windows hung
several sorts of carved and painted panels, and amongst
these was the portrait of John Tradescant, curiously painted as though he were standing out from the
clouds-perhaps because of the name, quasi transcendat
coelos.
Amongst the carvings was Andromeda
with Perseus, incomparably carved in alabaster on
a black wooden panel. It is a pity that this beautiful
old work of art is so badly mounted; also that several
pieces are missing.
There was still another cabinet with
a materia medica, in which were all manner of gummi, boli, terrae sigillatae, together with some fossils and
drugs.
With them (for what reason I do not know) was
a stone stated to be the petrified heel of a shoe, and
certainly very much resembling one; although it is
difficult to believe, since the hole in the middle through
which heels were formerly fixed to the shoe quite
obviously had been recently bored.
Further on we saw on the wall all kinds of Indian
weapons and articles of clothing.
A number of nails which had been melted into a lump by lightning were
lying in a basket on a table.
In a case I found a very well-wrought Indian idol, or, as the Custos called it,
Brachmanus. He declared the stone was unknown
but it appeared to me as being a sort of steatite from
which the Indians usually make their gods, although it
had red veins (which I had not seen before) and was
very highly polished. The ridiculous fellow who was
showing us the specimens and who is a Sub-Custos and
Scholar of a College (the Custos himself, Mr. Parry,
cannot: show strangers over the museum for guzzling
and toping) announced in all earnest that the material
for these gods was made of rice, boiled and then
dyed.
In a cupboard were all manner of foreign costumes,
amongst them curious caps made of different kinds of
very beautiful gay-coloured feathers, such as the
upper classes in India wear for protection against the
sun.
On the wall next to this cupboard were hanging
many more dresses and in particular foreign fashions in
shoes; further an Indian lantern without glass or horn:
that is to say made of plaited and painted reeds or
rushes, quite transparent and prettily made. They may
be all very well in India where there is no wind, but not
in England where it is never calm.
In the centre of the
hall hangs the portrait of the founder Ashmole life-size,
standing before a table, one hand holding a book in
folio entltled History of the Garter, which he had
written and published. He wore one of the chains mentioned
above to which, doubtless, the words under the
picture refer: —praemia honoraria.
When we were finished I got them to show me the
catalogue of the museuum. This is a bad description consisting,
it is true, of six volumes in four, each a finger in
thickness, but with the specimens only designated by
one word. The first volume is a catalogus librorum quos
prima vice donavit Elias Ashmole an. 1685, and with it
a catalogus animalium. The second yolume is a catalogus
numismatum, including 398 recentiora, several Roman and three hundred pure English, though many are entered twice over. Vol. 3 is materia medica. Vol. 4 is fossilia &. vegetabilia &. lapides terrae, conchae. Vol. 5 is catalogus lapidum pretiosorum. Vol. 6 is de cochleis tam
terrestribus fluviatilibus quam marinis.
One could wish that the catalogues or indices, bad as
they are, were published, or, better still that an accurate
description of this museum could be made, like that of
the Royal Society Museum in London, although as far as the lapides are concerned, Lloyd, the former learned
and diligent Custos of this museum has, I believe,
commenced one. But the present Proto-Custos, as he is called, Master Parry, is too idle to continue it, although
he is little inferior to his predecessor Lloyd in natural
history or in the knowledge of Cambrian, Anglo-Saxon and other languages. But he is always lounging about in
the inns, so that one scarcely ever meets him in the
museum, as I have already said; if it were not for this he
could yet do well as he is still a young man a little over
thirty. The specimens in the museum might also be much
better arranged and preserved, although they are better
kept than those in Gresham College, London, which are far too bad considering their splendid description. But it
is surprising that things can be preserved even as well as
they are, since the people impetuously handle every
thing in the usual English fashion and, as I mentioned
before, even the women are allowed up here for sixpence;
they run here and there, grabbing at everything and
taking no rebuff from the Sub-Custos. I had the leges
copied for me by my servant as they are privately
printed and not obtainable, though perhaps I might
have found them in Wood's Historia Universitatis
Oxoniensis. But enough of this museum.