With these Hands is a co-produced gallery trail created by a multicultural team of volunteers who share an interest in the hand-crafted.
Through the objects chosen and the stories told, you are invited to learn more about the way we craft and make in different cultures. Objects and storytelling enabling us to engage in shared experiences, emotions and ideas.
Objects tell human stories
They speak of hardship and dignity, of celebration, and resistance
The trail has nine stops around the Museum galleries, with five of the nine stops on the ground floor, three on the first floor and one on the second floor. We encourage visitors to use the trail map, starting on the first floor, moving up to the second floor and then finishing on the ground floor.
This trail was created as part of Multaka-Oxford. Our co-curators went on a journey together working closely with the museum collections and teams of experts. They have all thought deeply about the stories their chosen objects inspired.
Marriage cap with lira coins, 20th-century, Palestine, donated in 1952; Pitt Rivers Museum identification number 1952.5.86
Seal impression of horned animal, Mohenjo-daro, Pakistan, donated in 1955; Pitt Rivers Museum identification number 1955.1.24
Glass beads made in Austria, donated in 1893, Pitt Rivers Museum identification number 1893.28.2
Amber prayer beads from Mecca, Saudi Arabia, donated in 1891; Pitt Rivers Museum identification number 1891.42.5
Wassail cup, Oxfordshire, England, 2025; made and donated by Robert Field
Woman’s embroidered dress, Afghanistan, purchased in 1991; Pitt Rivers Museum identification number 1991.15.1
Hand-knotted rug made in Afghanistan, donated by Helen Adams in 2009; Pitt Rivers Museum identification number 2009.4.1
Bar of Ghar soap, Aleppo in Syria, donated in 2025; Pitt Rivers Museum Handling Collection.
Aleppo soap factory photographed by Jenny Balfour-Paul in 1985, donated in 2018; Pitt Rivers Museum identification number 2018.137.2037
Aleppo soap factory photographed by Jenny Balfour-Paul in 1985, donated in 2018; Pitt Rivers Museum identification number 2018.137.2039
Camel bone prayer beads from Mecca, Saudi Arabia, donated by William Crooke in 1891; Pitt Rivers Museum identification number 1891.42.1
Sacred clay prayer beads from Mecca, Saudi Arabia, donated by William Crooke in 1891; Pitt Rivers Museum identification number 1891.42.6
Embroidered shirt, Iran, made by Arezu Sheykhizad in 2024
Stage in Nō mask crafting, carved unpainted hinoki wood mask depicting young woman, purchased in 2015; Pitt Rivers Museum identification number 2015.28.2.1
Stage in Nō mask crafting, painted with base layer of white pigment, purchased in 2015; Pitt Rivers Museum identification number 2015.28.3.1
Stage in Nō mask crafting, completed young woman mask made by Hideta Kitazawa, purchased in 2015; Pitt Rivers Museum identification number 2015.28.4.1
Jibbah, shirt with applique patches, Sudan, donated by Harry Hamilton Jackson in 1919; Pitt Rivers Museum identification number 1919.29.6
Embroidered gun cover; Afghanistan, purchased by the Pitt Rivers Museum in 1999; Pitt Rivers Museum identification number 1999.33.45
Vyshyvanka made by Nadia Petukh in 1945, Rivno region of Ukraine, donated by Oksana Shevchuk in 2025; Pitt Rivers Museum identification number 2025.10.1
