The third film in our series exploring the remarkable collections of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.
In this episode, Prof. Suzannah Lipscomb investigates the shifting image of witches in the early modern imagination. In conversation with curator An Van Camp, we trace how witches were portrayed in prints and drawings from the 15th to the 17th centuries - sometimes grotesque, sometimes seductive, but always threatening. From dark woodcuts to intricate engravings, we uncover the fears and fantasies that shaped these depictions.
Along the way, we encounter one of the most curious objects in the museum: a witch’s bottle, sealed and buried to protect against harmful magic. These artefacts reveal a world gripped by anxiety, where superstition, religion, and art collided in the struggle to explain the unexplainable.
Up Next in 2025 on History Hit
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The Ashmolean Up Close: Memento Mori
The fourth film in our series exploring the remarkable collections of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.
In this episode, Prof. Suzannah Lipscomb meets curator Matthew Winterbottom to explore the morbid side of life in Early Modern Europe... through Memento Mori.
This was a period awash with obje...
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The Ashmolean Up Close: King Alfred's...
The fifth film in our series exploring the remarkable collections of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.
Dan Snow joins Museum Director Xa Sturgis, to delve into the museum's Anglo-Saxon treasures, including the famed Alfred Jewel. Alongside other exquisite artefacts, such as a warrior's sword and v...
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The Ashmolean Up Close: Origins of An...
The sixth and final episode in our series exploring the remarkable collections of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.
Dan Snow joins Keeper of Antiquities, Liam McNamara, to journey into Egypt’s distant past, long before the Pharaohs and pyramids. Through extraordinary artefacts from the Predynastic...
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