Thread by @AshmoleanMuseum

We’re unleashing some pawsome pups from our collection for #InternationalDogDay!

🐶 Mycenaean dog's head rhyton, late Helladic Period (c. 1300–1200 BCE), Greece. Painted ceramic. .298 AN1896-1908.AE

Throughout history and across cultures, dogs have been considered symbols of loyalty, companionship and protection.

🐶 A Dog Lying on a Ledge, 1630–1720, by an anonymous artist. Oil on canvas. WA1957.59.2

Their image has been captured in all forms of artistic expression, from early cave paintings to contemporary street art. 

🐶 Greenware burial figure of a dog, 900 CE, Yue kiln sites, China. Stoneware with green glaze. EA1956.370

Dogs and humans have shared a connection for a very long time – evidence suggests that the domestication of dogs by hunter-gatherers took place as early as 30,000 years ago.

🐶 Two puppies at play, 1910, designed by Kōga Iijima (1829–1900). Nishiki-e (full colour) woodblock print, with bokashi (tonal gradation). EA1989.172

Today, the global dog population is estimated to be around 900 million, 13 million of which are pets here in the UK.

🐶 The left Foot of the second Shepherd from the left in the Adoration of the Shepherds Tapestry, and the Forelegs and Paws of the Dog, c. 1520–30, by Workshop of Tommaso Vincidor di Andrea (1493–1536). Brush in opaque watercolour, over black chalk, on laid paper. WA1846.239