Gifts and Books

EXHIBITION

Gifts and Books

16 June – 29 October 2023

ST Lee, Weston Library

This exhibition has now closed

About the exhibition

The giving and receiving of gifts is fundamental to human societies.

Drawing on material from ancient Sumerian writing tablets to contemporary fiction for children, Gifts and Books will explore the importance of gift-giving through books and across time, and how this apparently simple act reveals wider interactions, relationships and belief systems.

Generosity. Power. Reverence. Love. Struggle. Obligation.

Come and explore the meaning of gifts, exchange and the stories we tell about them.

Curator

This exhibition was curated by Dr Nicholas Perkins, Associate Professor and Tutor in English, St Hugh's College, University of Oxford

Audio highlights

Listen to a selection of academics and authors discuss the role of giving and receiving in objects from a medieval text to contemporary children's fiction.

Listen in the gallery using the QR codes, or at home.

Object highlights

Ormesby Psalter, 14th century

The Ormesby Psalter is one of the masterpieces of East Anglian art. This lavishly decorated book of psalms was a gift to Norwich Cathedral in the later 14th century. It has a protective ‘chemise’ wrapper made from animal skin. MS. Douce 366 (Image © Bodleian Libraries)

Percy Bysshe Shelley's guitar

The poet Percy Bysshe Shelley gave this Pisan guitar to his friend Jane Williams around April 1822. Along with the guitar, he presented her with a copy of his poem, 'With a guitar. To Jane.' (Image © Bodleian Libraries)

Book of Hours (England, 16th century)

Page from a book of hours, depicting Jeanne de Baillencourt kneeling in prayer with Virgin Mary and Christ (Image © Bodleian Libraries)

'The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano' (1789)

Title page opening of The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, one of the earliest examples of a formerly-enslaved person relating their experiences of slavery and their progress toward emancipation (Image © Bodleian Libraries)