Pitt Rivers Museum
School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography

The collection of the famous traveler and anthropologist, General Pitt Rivers.The Museum displays archaeological and ethnographic objects from all parts of the world. The General's founding gift contained more than 18,000 objects but there are now over half a million. Many were donated by early anthropologists and explorers. The extensive photographic and sound archives contain early records of great importance. Today the Museum is an active teaching department of the University of Oxford. It also continues to collect through donations, bequests, special purchases and through its students, in the course of their fieldwork.

The Indian collections in the Pitt Rivers Museum comprise well over 10,000 items, covering most aspects of daily life, including a variety of bronzes, paintings and carvings relating to Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist and Sikh communities. Ritual objects include numerous figures of deities, temple lamps, a large collection of rosaries, and masks. The jewellery collection includes some exceptionally fine pieces. Knuckle-dusters, 'tiger claws' and Sikh war-quoits feature in the startling display of weapons in the Upper Gallery. Also on view are tools, including the complete contents of a carpenter's workshop; agricultural and domestic equipment; toys, including dolls and kites; fans, playing cards, boat models and an internationally important collection of textiles, including a number of complete tribal costumes.

This museum contains a few Sikh arms, Chakkars and swords and a number of images by Underwood and Underwood. You can view a few images from the Pitt Rivers Collection in the Gallery Section.

Information

Opening Hours
The Museum is normally open to the public between 12.00 pm and 4.30 pm, Monday to Saturday, Sunday 2.00 - 4.30 pm.

The Museum will be closed on the following days over Christmas: 24, 25, 26 and 31 December and 1st January.

Admission
Admission to the museum is free.

Disabled Visitors
Wheelchair access to the Museum is very limited, but arrangements have been made to assist disabled visitors to the ground floor Court. Both the improvments to our emergency lighting system and the Court Project (see above) may limit access to areas of the Court for wheelchair users at certain times. Access to the galleries has had to be withdrawn due to technical problems with the lift. Please telephone before your visit for more information, particularly if you are hoping to see a particular section of the displays. Accessible toilet facilities are available.

A sound guide is available for visitors with visual impairments, with an induction loop for those with hearing aids. There is also a version for younger or foreign visitors, suitable for those with learning difficulties.

Shop
The Museum has a well stocked bookshop and gift shop in which you will find items which relate to subjects represented in the collection (souvenirs, postcards, a good selection of books for adults and children, and many crafts). Where possible, goods are purchased from companies which have a fair trade policy or who support community work. The shop is very small and cannot cope with large parties all at once.

Parking
The Museum unfortunately cannot offer any parking facilities. Vehicles parking in the University's Science Area without a permit are liable to be wheel-clamped, so we can only suggest that you look for parking in either the side streets around the Museum or at the multi-storey car park. There are also four Park and Ride car parks (siutated on the A40 at Headington, Red Bridge at the bottom of the Abingdon Road, near Kennington, Pear Tree Roundabout, Kidlington and at Botley). The coach park is on Oxpens Road. The walk from the coach park and the multi-storey car parks to the Museum is about half an hour. Coaches may put groups down outside the University Museum.

Restaurant Facilities
The Museum has no restaurant facilities. For picnics, the University Parks are approximately five minutes' walk away. Alternatively there are several fast-food restaurants in the town centre and a selection of public houses and bistros. No eating or drinking is allowed in the museum.

Source: www.prm.ox.ac.uk