Are we what we treasure?

A section of an illuminated manuscript; the illumination shows a bearded man pointing at a winged animal

Image: The Duke Humphrey New Testament, Bodleian Library MS. Duke Humfrey c. 1, fol. 39r

Talk

Are we what we treasure?

Curating the Bodleian's Treasured exhibition

A gold horizontal flourish

 20 June 2025

  13.00–14.00

 At the Weston Library

  Free, booking required

Book now

About the event

What makes something a treasure – age? Rarity? Price? Or simply the fact that someone has loved and kept it? 

The word ‘treasure’ appeared in English nearly a thousand years ago. Some of its earliest uses survive in manuscripts now held in the Bodleian. ‘Where thy treasure is, there also thine heart is’, wrote an Oxford translator in the 1380s. At that time, a treasure could mean not only riches, but a treasury: a place where precious things are kept safe and accessible. The Bodleian has served as such a place for centuries. 

In this talk, the curators of Treasured will share the stories behind some of the library’s most surprising and overlooked collections. This exhibition reconsiders what a treasure can be through objects from across the world, prompting visitors to reflect on what we ourselves value – and what this reveals about us.

Speakers

Andrew Dunning and Nicholas Kontovas

Event information


Book tickets

  Friday 20 June 2025

  13.00–14.00

     Free, booking required

 At the Weston Library

Book now


Contact

 publicengagement@bodleian.ox.ac.uk


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A gold horizontal flourish