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.
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