The silver collections accumulated and preserved in Oxford colleges since the Middle Ages are an important part of England's cultural inheritance. As the repository for Oxford University's decorative arts, the Ashmolean Museum proudly exhibited an incredible collection of glittering silver and gilt, medieval and Tudor silver and 18th and 19th century silver, from June 16 - September 19, 2004.
The pieces are as rich and rare as any in royal palaces or cathedrals. The Museum's mission was to display these works as a whole and provide public access to them which in the past was only accessible to privileged visitors. Not since 1928 has such a comprehensive exhibition of silver from Oxford colleges been shown. This book displays many of the pieces from this exhibition through color photographs and also includes detailed descriptions on the history, significance and artisan of the artifacts.